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Brewers-Nationals Preview

Aug 23, 2009 - 11:24 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Milwaukee (60-62) at Washington (43-80), 4:35 p.m. EDT

The Milwaukee Brewers played .500 baseball during the last 40 games of the 2008 season and still earned a playoff berth.

They'll need to play much better than that to make the postseason in 2009.

Milwaukee looks to take three of four from the host Washington Nationals in the series finale on Monday afternoon.

The Brewers (60-63) split their final 40 games last season, including a 7-5 stretch under interim manager Dale Sveum after Ned Yost was fired, and won the NL wild card to advance to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years.

With 39 games remaining this season, however, advancing to the postseason seems like a long shot for the Brewers, who face significant deficits in the NL Central and wild-card races.

Milwaukee didn't help itself in either race as it committed two errors in Sunday's 8-3 loss to the Nationals, including one by rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar in the first inning that led to three unearned runs. Escobar's first major league homer in the fifth was an afterthought.

"That's nice that he hit a home run (but) I'm looking for him to be a Hoover out there in the field," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "This guy's supposed to be an impact glove man."

Yovani Gallardo (11-10, 3.56 ERA) will try to get the Brewers back on track in the series finale, but the right-hander is 0-4 with a 5.74 ERA in five road starts since a 7-5 victory in Cleveland on June 16.

Gallardo, who receives among the lowest run support in the NL (3.78), yielded three runs and four hits over six innings in Wednesday's 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh.

The Brewers have scored one run or fewer in six of his starts this season.

Monday is Gallardo's first career start in the nation's capital. He surrendered three runs and five hits over seven innings in a 7-3 victory over the Nationals on July 30.

Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hit a three-run homer off Gallardo in that game.

Zimmerman went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer and an RBI single as Washington snapped its five-game slide Sunday. Zimmerman batted .167 with one homer and four RBIs during the Nationals' skid.

Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn homered for the second time in the series with a solo shot Sunday.

He is 1 for 7 lifetime versus Gallardo.

Collin Balester (1-3, 6.75) takes the mound for Washington (44-80) as it closes its seven-game homestand. The 23-year-old right-hander is looking to rebound from the shortest outing of his career. He pitched 1 1-3 innings in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to Colorado and matched a career high with five walks while yielding three runs and three hits.

Balester committed an error in the first inning when he walked the first three batters and four of the first five.

"I've been trying so hard, and I think that's my biggest problem," he said.

Balester, 0-2 with an 11.37 ERA in his last two starts, went six innings in an 8-3 victory at Milwaukee on July 28 when he gave up two runs and five hits.

Milwaukee had won four straight and nine of 11 against Washington prior to Sunday's defeat.