The Brewers picked up their first win of the season behind a complete game shutout by Yovani Gallardo, winning 1-0.
Gallardo allowed two hits over nine scoreless innings, walking two and striking out two. He induced 16 groundouts to only two flyouts, throwing 111 pitches and 65 for strikes. He pitched very well to induce weak contact by Braves hitters, but he also received luck, as the Braves went 2-24 on balls in play.
The two hits by the Braves came on singles by Nate McLouth and Dan Uggla. McLouth's was erased by a double play, while Uggla's was erased by a caught stealing when Uggla slid over the base. The Braves reached base two other times on walks. Martin Prado walked in the fourth, which was erased by a double play, and Jason Heyward walked in the fifth, which led to nothing.
The Braves only struck out twice as a team, yet they only reached the outfield a handful of times.
The one bright spot for the Braves was Derek Lowe, who continued his new way of pitching by striking out seven over six innings. He allowed one run on five hits, including three walks.
The lone run allowed came in the third inning. Gallardo singled with one out, and Nyjer Morgan moved him to second on a single with two outs. Ryan Braun followed with a hard hit ball off the glove of Chipper Jones for a single, scoring Gallardo.
The Brewers put two in scoring position with two outs in the fifth, but Prince Fielder grounded out to end the inning. Lowe's hits allowed were never hard hit except for Braun's, and he kept the Brewers off balance for much of his outing. His slider continued to be very effective, recording six of his seven strikeouts on the pitch.
Eric O'Flaherty followed with a scoreless inning and a third, and Scott Linebrink pitched two-thirds of an inning. The Brewers were thrown out at home twice in the eighth on a groundout to Uggla and assist by Prado from left field. That was followed by a popout with two in scoring position to end the inning, holding the game at one run.
For more on the series, Braves fans check out Talking Chop and Brewers fans check out Brew Crew Ball.