Brewers pitchers are nine strikeouts away from topping the 2003 Cubs for the most in major league history with 1,404. It’s apparently not something worth striving for, however. They’ve opted to scratch Yovani Gallardo from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Padres.
There’s nothing wrong with Gallardo, the team’s lone 200-strikeout guy. All indications are that the Brewers just figure he’s pitched enough this year and there’s no sense running him out there with nothing to play for.
Gallardo has made 33 starts and thrown 204 innings this year. He threw 207 1/3 innings in the regular season last year and 19 more in the playoffs, so it’s not as though he’d be setting any new precedents by making another start.
With Gallardo out of the mix, the Brewers are expected to go with a bullpen day and use several relievers to get through the finale against San Diego. Perhaps they’ll get the nine strikeouts anyway. They’ve averaged 8.67 strikeouts per game this season.
