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Gallardo pitches and hits the Brewers past the Pirates

Sep 1, 2007 - 4:01 AM By Nick Berenz PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- After losing a tough series against the top team in the National League Central, the Milwaukee Brewers bounced back against the division's worst.

Rookie Yovani Gallardo pitched a season-high seven innings and also hit his second home run of the season as the Brewers posted a 3-2 victory Friday over the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates.

Corey Hart went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs for Milwaukee (67-67), which closed within 1 1/2 games of the division-leading Chicago Cubs (68-65). Chicago lost, 6-1, to the Houston Astros on Friday afternoon.

The Brewers had lost two of three to the Cubs prior to the start of this series.

Pittsburgh has dropped three straight to remain in the NL Central cellar.

Gallardo (6-4), who retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced, allowed two runs, six hits and walk. It was a much better performance for the 21-year-old than his recent starts, as he had lost three of four while surrendering 23 runs in 17 2/3 innings.

The rookie helped his own cause with his second home run in his last three outings. Gallardo is now hitting .275 (8-for-29) on the season.

His solo blast with two outs in the bottom of the fourth gave his club a 3-1 advantage.

"That was a tough blow, but it's part of the game," Pirates pitcher Tony Armas Jr. said. "The pitch got away from me. Gallardo did his job and I paid for it."

The Brewers got on the board early against Armas thanks to the combination of Gabe Gross and Hart. Gross had doubles in the first and third innings, with Hart driving him in both times with a sacrifice fly and a double, respectively, to stake Milwaukee to an early 2-0 lead.

"For a change, everything went according to the script," Gross said.

Trailing, 3-1, the Pirates threatened in the seventh. After a double by Ronny Paulino scored Adam LaRoche, the Brewers intentionally walked Jack Wilson to load the bases with one out.

"Yovani got into a little trouble in the seventh, but I had no intention of taking him out," Brewers manager Ned Yost said.

Yost's inclination to stick with Gallardo rather than hand the ball to his struggling bullpen was a key to the game. The righthander rewarded him by striking out pinch hitter Josh Phelps and Nate McLouth to escape the inning with the lead intact.

"When McLouth struck out, that really pumped me up, more than the home run," Gallardo said.

"Gallardo looked like he found a little different gear because those might have been the best pitches he threw in the seven innings he was out there," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said.

Derrick Turnbow pitched the eighth before closer Francisco Cordero worked a perfect ninth for his 38th save of the season.

"Both Turnbow and Coco (Cordero) were sharp and we were able to claw out a win," Yost said.

Despite owning the worst record in the division, the Pirates posted 17 wins in August, the most the team has won in a month since 1992. The team also led all major league clubs with 182 runs in August, the most since it scored 185 in August 1947.

LaRoche went 3-for-4, including his 20th home run of the season in the fourth inning. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games.

Armas (2-5) took the loss despite allowing just three runs and four hits in six innings. It was his first career loss to the Brewers in five starts.