Dose of Venom: Yovani Gallardo still undefeated against Arizona Diamondbacks

PHOENIX — It was getaway day for the Milwaukee Brewers; and the Arizona Diamondbacks will gladly drive them straight to Sky Harbor International Airport.

Right-hander Yovani Gallardo continued his mastery of the D-backs, allowing just one run and five hits over seven innings in Milwaukee’s 4-1 win in front of 22,559 fans at Chase Field Thursday afternoon.

Gallardo (5-4) didn’t allow a hit until Arizona shortstop Chris Owings delivered a one-out single in the fourth. The D-backs (31-45) managed their only run in the fifth when David Peralta scored on a Didi Gregorius fielder’s choice.

In 10 career starts against the D-backs dating back to his rookie season in 2007, Gallardo is 7-0 with a 1.86 ERA.

The Brewers took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when a Lyle Overbay double plated Aramis Ramirez. Two batters later, Elian Herrera blooped a single to center to score Overbay. It was just Herrera’s second RBI on the season.

The NL Central-leading Brewers would add a single run in the sixth on Ramirez’s RBI single and another in the eighth on a Carlos Gomez run-scoring base-hit.

Thursday marked the final game of the season between the two teams. Milwaukee takes the season series four games to three.

THE GOOD

Well, that didn’t long. Gregorius, making his first career start at third base, flawlessly handled his first fielding opportunity, diving to his right to snag Scooter Gennett’s line drive just five pitches into the game. High school is when Gregorius last played the hot corner.

Owings recorded the Diamondbacks’ first hit with a broken bat single to right. With one out in the fourth inning, he reached out across the plate to take the ball to the opposite field, snapping Gallardo’s streak of 10 straight batters retired to open the game.

Paul Goldschmidt’s two-out single in the sixth inning extended his streak of reaching base safely to 13 consecutive games, during which time he is hitting .341 (15-for-44) with four doubles, four home runs, eight RBI and 11 walks.

Promoted from Triple-A Reno earlier in the day, Matt Stites made his Major League debut and pitched a scoreless two-thirds of an inning coming on in relief of Oliver Perez in the eighth.

Great throw by Gerardo Parra and an even better tag by Tuffy Gosewisch to nail Khris Davis at the plate for the second out of the ninth inning. It was Parra’s second assist of the game and his sixth of the season, tying him with teammate A.J. Pollock for the NL lead.

Cody Ross singled in the fifth and doubled in the sixth to record his first mult-hit game since May 18. He finished 2-for-4.

THE BAD

Arizona starter Chase Anderson’s no-hit bid was broken up by a Ramirez leadoff double in the fifth inning. The Brewers scored two runs in the inning on Overbay’s RBI double and Hererra’s RBI single, and added another unearned run in the sixth thanks in part to a throwing error by Anderson, the first of his big league career.

Throughout his career, Aaron Hill has hit Brewers pitching very well. Yet in the four-game series, in which he played in three of the four games, Hill went hitless in 12 at-bats, including three strikeouts. He entered the game with the fourth-best average all-time against the Brewers (.390, min. 75 plate appearances).

After pitching a scoreless seventh inning, in which he picked off Overbay at first, Perez allowed an earned run in the eighth, his first since May 4. He had gone 14 straight appearances without such a blemish.

Goldschmidt in his three other at-bats in the game struck out, his third three-strikeout game of the season and the first since May 16.

Camp Day at Chase Field brought out several hundred kids, who attempted — and failed — to start the wave in the fifth inning.

STAT OF THE GAME

3: The number of runs allowed by Anderson (though only two were earned) and the number of Diamondbacks losses in the four-game series.

HE SAID IT

“We haven’t managed to do much against him. It seems like we get a few guys on base every now and then and he just kicks it into another level. He’s been very good against us in that aspect. One of these days, we’ll get him.” — Hill on Gallardo’s dominance against the D-backs, which continued Thursday.

NOTED

• Anderson and Gallardo each needed only 41 pitches the first time through the lineup. Anderson faced the nine-batter minimum, erasing a hit-by-pitch of Khris Davis with a double-play ball. Gallardo, meanwhile, completed three innings of perfect baseball.

• Umpires needed only 28 seconds to review and ultimately overturn the call that Carlos Gomez was safe at second as he tried to take the extra base on a throw home. Gomez, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games and drove in a run on the play, was out 9-2-4.

• Ender Inciarte (7-day disabled list, concussion) went 3-for-3 playing three innings in a simulated game at Salt River Fields on Wednesday. “All indications are he’s good,” said Gibson, who indicated the team must make a decision whether or not to activate the 23-year-old outfielder by Friday.

UP NEXT

The D-backs’ homestand continues with a visit from NL West-leading San Francisco.

Josh Collmenter and Tim Lincecum, a pair of right-handers, will take the mound in the opener of the three-game weekend series on Friday, June 20. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Collmenter (4-4, 4.05) is on a personal two-game losing streak, though his numbers at home and against the Giants are very good. He’s 3-1 with a 3.20 ERA (14 ER in 39.1 IP) in his last six starts at Chase Field and 4-1 with a 3.98 ERA (18 ER in 40.2 IP) in 15 games, including eight starts against San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Lincecum (5-4, 4.81) has one win in his past four starts. He faced the Diamondbacks in his first two outings of the season, allowing 11 runs on 15 hits, including four home runs, in 10 innings, which amounted to a 9.90 ERA.

Follow @CraigAZSports