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Brewers, Nats play two in D.C.

Apr 17, 2011 - 2:41 PM (Sports Network) - Right-hander Yovani Gallardo can stay unbeaten against the Washington Nationals and continue a strong start to 2011 today when the Milwaukee Brewers visit Nationals Park for a pair of games to wrap up a weather-impacted three-game weekend series.

The scheduled middle test of the series was postponed Saturday by rain.

Gallardo, who was scheduled to face Jason Marquis, will come back for that matchup in today's opening game, while Milwaukee's Marco Estrada will face Livan Hernandez in the second game.

Gallardo is 2-0 with a 2.70 earned run average in his career against the hosts, allowing just 16 hits and six runs in 20 innings with 26 strikeouts.

The 25-year-old has an identical 2.70 ERA in his initial 20 innings of 2011, allowing the same 16 hits and six runs in starts against Cincinnati, Atlanta and the Chicago Cubs.

A 14-game winner a year ago, Gallardo has allowed a .235 opposition batting average thus far in April, a shade down from his career number of .238.

Washington batters have posted a .222 average against him.

That said, the Nationals snapped a two-game skid in Friday night's series opener when Jayson Werth scampered home with the winning run on an infield bouncer hit by Adam LaRoche in the 10th inning of a 4-3 win.

It was an adventurous bottom of the 10th for Werth and the Nationals. With one out, he hit a ball to shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, who threw low to first for an error. Werth raced to second base on the miscue and then stole third.

LaRoche then hit a bouncer to first base, but the throw home was a bit high, allowing him to score.

Wilson Ramos went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for Washington to up his batting average to .480.

The Nationals had just five hits.

Rickie Weeks went 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Brewers, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Chad Gaudin (1-1) earned the win pitching a scoreless 10th inning where he allowed one hit.

Zach Braddock (0-1) took the loss for the Brewers.

Washington sends 32-year-old Marquis to the mound for his 306th big-league appearance and 21st against Milwaukee. The right-hander is 5-9 with a blown save and a hold in 17 starts and three relief outings in the matchup, posting a 5.06 ERA across 96 complete innings.

He was held to 13 starts and just two wins in an injury-plagued 2010, but has gone six and 6 1/3 innings in a pair of no-decisions so far this season, allowing 13 hits and five runs with 11 strikeouts.

As recently as 2009, Marquis was a 15-game winner with the Chicago Cubs. He also won 15 games with St. Louis en route to a World Series appearance in 2004.

In fact, 2010 broke a string of six seasons with 11 or more wins.

In game two, Estrada, a 27-year-old righty, faces his former team - the Nationals - for the first time since they drafted him in 2006. He appeared in the majors as recently as 2009 for Washington, making four appearances and posting a 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings.

He's 1-0 in nine appearances with the Brewers in 2010-11, allowing 22 hits and 17 runs in 18 1/3 innings.

Estrada began this season with a 5-4 win against Atlanta on April 6, then got a no-decision in a one-inning stint against the Cubs on April 9.

Hernandez, who reached the majors in 1996, faces Milwaukee for the 22nd time in his 450th big-league outing. He won 10 games with the Nationals last season and has split two decisions so far this year, dropping a 2-0 verdict to Atlanta on March 31 and beating Philadelphia, 7-4, on April 12.

He is 8-6 against the Brewers with a 3.66 ERA in 150 innings.

Milwaukee has won four of five and nine of its last 13 versus Washington.