Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo had one highlight in an otherwise unimpressive outing against the Miami Marlins on Monday, breaking the all-time franchise record for strikeouts with his lone K of the night, per MLB Milestones.
After matching Ben Sheets' team record of 1,206 strikeouts in his last outing, Gallardo recorded No. 1,207 with no outs in the second inning when he caught Marlins catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia looking on a low slider. The 28-year-old right can be excused for a lack of jubilance, as the previous two batters had both hit solo home runs.
Ultimately, Gallardo lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and two walks in a game the Brewers would eventually lose 6-4. The loss, Milwaukee's third in a row and 12th in its past 13 games, dropped the Brew Crew six games back of the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.
Having allowed 10 earned runs in his last two outings, Gallardo has played his part in the stretch of futility, though he did toss six scoreless frames in an Aug. 27 loss to the San Diego Padres.
Long known for his ability to pile up punchouts, Gallardo has turned into more of a pitch-to-contact guy the past two seasons. After posting a K/9 of at least 8.99 in each of the previous four seasons, the Mexican righty saw that mark fall to just 7.17 last year. He's taken another step back this season, with his K/9 sitting at just 6.56 after Monday's outing.
The Brewers have a $13 million team option on Gallardo for 2015, and while that once looked like a sure thing to be picked up, the team may now give some thought to the $600,000 buyout.
One way or the other, Gallardo will hold the title of Brewers all-time strikeout king for quite some time, as no other pitcher currently with the franchise has more than 484 strikeouts in a Milwaukee uniform, with that mark held by Marco Estrada, who was demoted to the bullpen in July.
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