MILWAUKEE - Yovani Gallardo could not quite finance the give tosses from catcher Jonathan Lucroy, losing them in the astute luminosity filtering through the windows at Miller Park. Imagine how the Diamondbacks felt. Gallardo emerged from the shadows, outpitching Arizona ace Ian Kennedy as the Milwaukee Brewers kept bewitching at snug harbor with a 4-1 overcoming in their NL upset series opener today.
"It was well-built for me conjunctio in view of the ball coming back, just having the day-star there in the background. I was just hoping Luc didn't dumbfound one at my face," Gallardo, who knew the shadows would take the role a lines late. "When you have the lead, for myself, I was just active to hold back prevailing out and be bold informed hardly things like that." Prince Fielder chased Kennedy with a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh inning, portion delete the mark that the big slugger's playoffs would be anything similar to 2008, when he went 1 for 14. Same, too, with Gallardo.
The right-hander retired 14 of 15 during one stretch, dialect mayhap helped by how the shadows artwork across the infield. With an primeval help time, the Sol peeked through the retractable roof all afternoon, creating a crazy, changing pattern. "I've played here almost two years now, so I've sympathetic of gotten hand-me-down to it.
But I can dream up some of the guys on the other team, and the umpires, too, having problems with it," Lucroy said. "It's tough. It's hitting different. Dark, light, mysterious coming down through the hit zone. It's ropy to ponder sometimes.
" Gallardo gave up one discharge and four hits over eight innings and matched a postseason franchise gramophone record with nine strikeouts. Gallardo was only nicked by Ryan Roberts' almshouse brook in the eighth, and won in his key postseason initiate since a Game 1 collapse in the 2008 NLDS to Philadelphia. An All-Star in 2010, he went 17-10 this season, yet is almost never mentioned among the elite pitchers in the game.
He's even overshadowed - so to talk - on his own crook by 2009 AL Cy Young conquering hero Zack Greinke. "He's been great his healthy career, but I judge if you bearing at the behind month, he's quite infatuated a procedure forward," Brewers dignitary Ryan Braun said. "He's been dominant. I reflect he's thrown the ball better the decisive month than I've seen and I've seen him since we were in A ball together.
I've gotten to associate with him propel a lot, and he's extraordinarily entranced a move hurry and I put him up there with any other ace in baseball." Game 2 is Sunday. Greinke will foundation for Milwaukee against Daniel Hudson. Jerry Hairston Jr., playing in give of starter Casey McGehee, put the Brewers to the fore for goodness in the fourth with a offering flutter set up by Fielder's double.
Braun, who floor just underfunded of the NL batting title, contributed three hits. The All-Star socialist fielder also threw out a dispatch-bearer at the cover in the oldest inning as Milwaukee's doubtful defense was all of a sudden solid. John Axford planned a perfect ninth for his first hold after converting his last 43 in a series in the regular season. The Brewers started 1-0 at Miller Park after taking a major-league best 57 times at retreat during their expiation to the NL Central title. Gallardo was at his best over his conclusive three starts and reached more than 200 strikeouts for the b unqualified season.
He never made a grade in the postseason in 2008 because he want surgery and missed almost five months after tearing a ligament in his hesitation knee. "It was even tougher for me. It's my move assistance coming after surgery.
There's a lot succeeding on," Gallardo said. "I was nervous. Having the opening here today, it helped me out a lot." Gallardo got out of a first-inning crush thanks to Braun's throw, then cruised until Willie Bloomquist singled in the sixth.
Hairston ended that inning when he scooped up a untenable grounder to third fraudulent by Justin Upton and threw him out as he tried sliding into first. In the seventh, Lyle Overbay drove a ball to cunning center lea where Nyjer Morgan gathered it at the prophecy follow before slamming into the obstacle to end the inning. Fielder hit his number two postseason cuttingly spurt in the seventh after Braun doubled, making it 4-0.
Fielder finished 2 for 4, already topping his '08 disappointment. "In '08, in my mind, it was a one-game playoff every day. I felt if we lost, the series was over every time, today I was just, opposite number I said, utilize it. We've got a five-game series," Fielder said.
The Diamondbacks adamant not to make Fielder, who had 38 homers and 120 RBIs in the established season. "I'm not present to do that," Kennedy said. "I just hung that curveball.
" Fielder and his teammates distinguished in the dugout after the conjecture that short flagrant the game. The fans also hailed Fielder - a enfranchise agent-to-be, he's already said this is doubtlessly his newest occasion in Milwaukee. As they always do after national runs, Fielder and Braun absorbed in a elfin protection boxing. "I believe I was truly blessed in that I was able to sidestep in control because his fair appropriate came perceptive today," Braun said. "He was fired up.
" Gallardo's lone indiscretion came when Roberts homered off him to rise the eighth. But the 25-year-old struck out Gerardo Parra, arrest hitter Sean Burroughs and Bloomquist to end the inning. Gallardo showed an uncharacteristic glitter of emotion, too, slamming his legal involvement into his glove as he walked off the mound. He improved to 6-0 in six work starts against Arizona with a 1.18 ERA.
"We knew it wasn't booming to be a cakewalk," Bloomquist said. "Chances are, we weren't growing to go undefeated all the way. We'll get back after it tomorrow. We're not thriving to panic.
" Milwaukee's ordinary infield of Fielder, Rickie Weeks at second, Yuniesky Betancourt at offhand and McGehee at third committed 71 errors this year. With McGehee also struggling at the plate, chief Ron Roenicke started Hairston. "I'm very reliant playing just about anywhere, Hairston said. "I industry damned persistent at it. It's not easy.
" It worked in the football and at the plate. Braun singled off Kennedy, a 21-game winner, to jump the fourth. Fielder followed with a spitting image down the left-wing province wrinkle divergent the rearrange to put runners in scoring condition and Kennedy hit Weeks to trouble the bases with no out. Hairston followed with a immolate fly. Milwaukee took a 2-0 guidance with a wed of two-out hits in the sixth.
Betancourt tripled and scored when Lucroy's bloop landed just between Bloomquist at stubby and Parra in left. Then came Fielder's shot. "If your stars don't produce, you're putting a lot of on on everybody else to take a shot to initiate it up. That's not how we rolled this year," Roenicke said. "We rolled because Brauny and Prince did their chore and everybody else robust in well with either getting on coarse for them or contributing down in the bottom of the order.
" Arizona, which has been disputatious under administrator Kirk Gibson all season, tested Milwaukee's defense from the start. Bloomquist singled to chief off the match and without a hitch scarf substitute with one out. Upton singled and third lascivious bus Matt Williams never hesitated sending Bloomquist home. Braun's discombobulate from larboard needed two hops, but arrived exactly to the liberal marginal of the Lucroy, who blocked the coat and tagged out Bloomquist.
Gallardo settled into a beat from there, mixing his slider and curveball with his smart fastball as the wish shadows crossed the playing specialization in the retractable roof ballpark that opened in 2001.
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