A Schelling For Your Thoughts

CHICAGO — With the Brewers putting up 26 hits against the Cubs, the offense stole the show in Monday night’s 18-1 win. But right-handed starter Yovani Gallardo was pretty impressive in his own right.

Gallardo went six strong innings in his third outing since coming off the disabled list, giving up just one run on two hits. More impressively, though, Gallardo tied a career high with 12 strikeouts.

“I thought Yo threw the ball pretty well,” said Brewers manager Ken Macha. “He had good command on his low [outside pitches] in particular.

“He was hitting that little box down there, down and away, with consistency.”

After rolling through six innings, Gallardo was removed after just 95 pitches, due in large part to the Brewers’ 13-1 lead at the time.

Macha noted that the need for some of his relievers to get some work played a part in the decision as well.

“We’ve got to get [LaTroy] Hawkins going again,” said Macha, referring to the veteran right-hander, who has recently returned from a 2 1/2-month stint on the disabled list. “[Trevor] Hoffman and [John] Axford both hadn’t pitched in five days. So we needed to get both those guys in there.”

Gallardo’s outing was particularly impressive, considering the way his previous start — against the Reds — had gone.

Last time out, Gallardo struggled, giving up six earned runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings of work.

“Every time I help the team win, it’s a pretty good day at the ballpark,” Gallardo said. “Obviously, my last start wasn’t very good. You can’t worry about one [bad] start, we’re all going to have them. You’ve just got to bounce back and keep moving forward.”

At the plate, Gallardo reached base after being hit by a pitch in the third, but finished as the only player in the Brewers’ starting lineup without a hit.

That was just fine with Gallardo.

“I’ll take how the day went today,” he said. “Any time I get up there and get a hit, it’s a bonus. Let the hitters do their job and I’ll do the pitching.”

That formula worked pretty well for the Brewers on Monday.