Milwaukee @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( May 1, 2010 ) Milwaukee 2, San Diego 1
The San Diego Padres simply had no answer for Yovani Gallardo, who did it with his arm and bat on Saturday.
Gallardo struck out 11 batters in seven innings and added a solo home run as the Brewers snapped San Diego’s eight-game home winning streak with a 2-1 victory.
The Padres, who hadn’t lost at Petco Park since April 15, will try to get another streak started as they face the Brewers in the rubber match of the four-game series on Sunday.
San Diego has been dominant at home against their opposition, winning seven of the last 10 and 14 of 20 overall games when matched up with Milwaukee. Partway through Saturday’s game, the Padres had held the Brewers scoreless for 25 consecutive innings.
Jon Garland will take the hill for the home team, eyeing his third consecutive win.
Garland, who split last season with the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, has settled in nicely in his new surroundings. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 2.57 ERA through five starts.
After allowing six earned runs in his opening two starts, Garland has surrendered just two runs over the next three outings. Against the Florida Marlins on Tuesday, he struck out 10 batters and gave up one run in six innings in his best performance.
Garland is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA over two starts against Milwaukee.
On the other side, Randy Wolf draws the start for the Brewers. Wolf, who is also in his first year with a new club, spent part of the 2008 season with the Padres.
Wolf has been steady through five starts, posting a record of 2-1 with a 3.34 ERA. He went eight innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his last outing, taking the no-decision while surrendering 10 hits and two runs in a 7-3 loss.
Wolf will hope that his offense can give him some run support after one of the league’s leading offensive units has gone cold recently. Before Saturday’s win, the Brewers had averaged just two runs in four straight losses.
All-Star third baseman Ryan Braun has been trying to do his part, notching hits during the last five games. He leads the team in average (.361), homers (five) and RBIs (20).
Former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman worked the ninth for Saturday’s save after a streak of two consecutive blown opportunities. It was the Hall-of-Famer’s first save in San Diego since leaving the team following the 2008 campaign.