Brewers 4 - 0 Cardinals
Final
  for this game

Gallardo flirts with no-hitter as Brewers down Cardinals

May 8, 2011 - 1:40 AM

Video

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Yovani Gallardo carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and Carlos Gomez hit a two-run triple in the ninth as Milwaukee downed St. Louis, 4-0, in the middle test of a three-game set from Busch Stadium.

Gallardo (3-2) allowed one hit through eight innings, fanning six with four walks. John Axford turned in a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts.

"That's the guy I saw during spring training and the guy we saw in the first two games this year," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said.

Casey McGehee finished with three hits and drove in a run for the Brewers, who snapped a seven-game slide.

Kyle Lohse (4-2) allowed six hits and one run over eight full frames for the Cardinals, who won the opener on Friday by a 6-0 count.

Gallardo carried a perfect game into the fifth, but walked Lance Berkman with one out and Daniel Descalso with two down. He escaped harm after getting Tyler Greene to fly out.

Colby Rasmus worked a two-out walk in the sixth but Albert Pujols grounded out to keep the no-hitter intact. Berkman drew another free pass in the seventh but the Cards still displayed no additional offense, as Yadier Molina hit into an inning-ending double play.

Descalso ended the suspense by starting the eighth with a single right up the middle, but Gallardo set down the next three batters to finish his outing.

"If a pitcher sits there and tells you he isn't thinking about it, it's not true," Gallardo said. "I was definitely thinking about it. Of course, it would have been great to achieve that, but most important is just getting a win."

McGehee and Mark Kotsay singled against Mitchell Boggs to start the ninth, then Gomez plated both with a one-out triple against Jason Motte -- brought in after Boggs' wild pitch on an 0-1 count to Gomez -- to make it 3-0 for the Brewers. Yuniesky Betancourt followed with a sacrifice fly for a four-run edge.

Axford fanned Rasmus and Pujols, then Matt Holliday grounded out to end the game.

In the third, McGehee doubled in Prince Fielder to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead, but was thrown out at third to end the frame.

Gallardo began the game by retiring the first 13 batters he faced.

"He mixed it up well," Descalso said of Gallardo's game plan. "He used both sides of the plate. He definitely had his 'A' stuff, and he got the best of us."

Game Notes

Gallardo had gone 1-2 with an 8.89 earned run average in his previous five starts, and entered the game 0-4 with a 5.63 ERA in seven prior starts against the Cardinals...Milwaukee has won five of the last seven meetings with St. Louis since last August 17...Juan Nieves remains the lone Milwaukee hurler to pitch a no-hitter, against Baltimore on April 15, 1987.






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