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Brewers send Gallardo to hill vs. Pirates

May 13, 2011 - 2:59 PM (Sports Network) - Yovani Gallardo tries to follow up a brilliant effort his last time out when the Milwaukee Brewers open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this evening at Miller Park.

Gallardo carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals and finished by giving up just one hit over eight scoreless innings to earn his first win in three starts, as he improved to 3-2 and lowered his earned run average nearly a run to 5.11.

"He showed what kind of pitcher he is," Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. "He was throwing strikes, getting ahead, and his stuff was just nasty. It was Yovani Gallardo. That's who he is. That's what he does."

Gallardo has pitched very well over the course of his career against the Pirates, going 6-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 11 games, 10 of which have been starts.

Milwaukee, tonight, will be trying to get back on track after it was denied a sweep in its three-game set with San Diego on Wednesday, as the Padres scored eight times in the eighth inning en route to the 13-6 win.

"We're still not playing good baseball, the consistent kind of baseball we need to play," said Randy Wolf, who started Wednesday's game and allowed 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings. "We need to keep on working for that. ... So far, 25 guys have been streaky -- whether it's good or bad. It's hard to be a consistent winner when you're streaky."

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, had its game with the Los Angeles Dodgers rained out on Thursday. The game actually got underway, but was stopped in the second inning because of a rain storm.

The Pirates, who have lost two in a row on the heels of a three-game winning streak, will pin their hopes tonight on righty James McDonald, who is 2-2 with a 5.65 ERA. McDonald did not get a decision on Sunday against Houston, but had perhaps his best outing of the season, as he scattered three hits over six scoreless innings and struck out eight in his team's 5-4 win.

McDonald has faced the Brewers five times, but only once as a starter and is 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA against them.

Milwaukee swept a rain-abbreviated two-game series from the Pirates earlier in the year and has beaten them in six straight and 11 of the last 13 meetings.