MILWAUKEE — Yovani Gallardo could barely see the return tosses from catcher Jonathan Lucroy, losing them in the bright light filtering through the windows at Miller Park.
Imagine how the Diamondbacks felt.
Gallardo emerged from the shadows, outpitching Arizona’s Ian Kennedy as the Milwaukee Brewers kept winning at home with a 4-1 victory in their NL division series opener Saturday.
“It was tough for me seeing the ball coming back, just having the sun there in the background. I was just hoping Luc didn’t throw one at my face,” said Gallardo, who knew the shadows would play a role. “I was just going to keep going out and be aggressive, knowing little things like that.”
Prince Fielder chased Kennedy with a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh inning, helping pave the way for Gallardo.
The right-hander retired 14-of-15 batters during one stretch, perhaps helped by how the shadows cut across the infield. With an early start time, the sun peeked through the retractable roof all afternoon, creating a crazy, changing pattern.
“I’ve played here almost two years now, so I’ve kind of gotten used to it. But I can imagine some of the guys on the other team, and the umpires, too, having problems with it,” Lucroy said. “It’s tough. Dark, light, dark coming down through the strike zone. It’s tough to see sometimes.”
Gallardo gave up one run and four hits over eight innings and matched a postseason franchise record with nine strikeouts.
He won in his first postseason start since a Game 1 loss in the 2008 NLDS to Philadelphia. An all-star in 2010, he went 17-10 this season, yet is rarely mentioned among the elite pitchers in the game.
He’s even overshadowed on his own staff by 2009 AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke.
“He’s been great his whole career, but I think if you look at the last month, he’s really taken a step forward,” Brewers star Ryan Braun said. “He’s been dominant. I think he’s thrown the ball better the last month than I’ve seen, and I’ve seen him since we were in A ball together. I’ve gotten to see him throw a lot, and he’s really taken a step forward.”
Star of the game
Gallardo finds his comfort zone
Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo gave up one run and four hits over eight innings and matched a postseason franchise record with nine strikeouts.
Gallardo, who was at his best over his final three starts and reached more than 200 strikeouts for the second straight season, improved to 6-0 in six career starts against Arizona with a 1.18 ERA.
Gallardo’s lone mistake came when Ryan Roberts homered off him to start the eighth.
Key moment
Fielder knocks away 2008 flop
Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder chased Arizona ace Ian Kennedy with a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh inning, helping erase the stigma that the big slugger’s playoffs would be anything like 2008, when he went 1-for-14.
Fielder hit his second postseason home run in the seventh after Ryan Braun doubled, making it 4-0. Fielder finished 2-for-4, already topping his 2008 disappointment.
