49 Yovani Gallardo, SP

Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo dropped his second straight start on Wednesday night against the Pirates. He allowed two runs on three hits with four walks over six innings of work in a 3-1 loss.

The right-hander made it through his first five frames scoreless before running into trouble in the sixth. In that inning, he loaded the bases before Neil Walker drove in two with a single.

Gallardo, who threw 97 pitches, also struck out five while taking his third loss.

His next start is scheduled for Monday against the Dodgers.

The Brewers are concerned about starter Yovani Gallardo's recent struggles on the mound, MLB.com reports. Gallardo, who is 3-2 with a 4.70 ERA over eight starts, has seen a drop in his velocity as well as his strikeouts.

The right-hander is averaging a career-worst 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings and the velocity on his fastball has dropped to 90.6 mph after averaging 91.8 mph last year.

"We'll see what happens, but this is too long of a period for him, because he's been so good for so many years, to see him scuffle at times," manager Ron Roenicke said. "So we're trying to figure out some things with him."

Gallardo is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday against the Pirates. He is 10-2 with a 2.49 ERA in 16 career appearances -- 15 starts -- against Pittsburgh.

Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo did not have one of his better outings Friday against the Reds. Gallardo allowed three runs on five hits over four innings -- his shortest outing of the year --in the 4-3 loss.

Most of the damage the right-hander came in the third inning as Cincinnati plated two runs in the frame, with one coming on a RBI double off the bat of Jay Bruce. Zach Cozart added an RBI single in the fourth, which was Gallardo's last inning of work.

He was pulled after throwing 100 pitches and finished with five walks and five strikeouts while taking the loss.

Gallardo (3-2) has now allowed seven earned runs over his last two starts (10 innings) but will look to turn things around when he faces the Pirates on the road Thursday. The right-hander allowed just one run over seven innings in his lone start against Pittsburgh earlier in the year.

Yovani Gallardo is sitting on the bench in more than one-quarter of the leagues on CBSSports.com, but that number may need to be even higher. If not for a healthy dose of run support, we would probably be talking more about how the Brewers' righty is one of the biggest early season busts.

Gallardo's velocity is down, and for the second year in a row, he is seeing a sizeable dip in his whiff rate. Though he hasn't walked many batters, it's not as if Gallardo has been throwing strikes. With a mediocre K-rate and a walk rate that looks poised to rise, it's hard to see Gallardo making a serious rebound.

Standard mixed league owners should strongly consider benching Gallardo next week against the Pirates or even dealing him to an owner convinced that he's bound to revert to last season's level.

Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo did not factor in the decision Saturday against the Cardinals. Gallardo, who made his seventh start, allowed four runs on six hits over six innings in a 7-6 defeat, including a three-run home run off the bat of Jon Jay in the second inning.

He did retire 13 of the next 14 batters he faced before surrendering a solo homer to Allen Craig in the sixth, putting St. Louis on top 4-2.

Milwaukee was able to re-take the lead in the bottom of the inning leaving Gallardo in line to take the win, but the Cardinals rallied back with two runs in the seventh.

The right-hander was pulled after throwing 90 pitches -- 56 for strikes -- and finished with four strikeouts and no walks while earning his third no-decision.

Gallardo is slated to make his next start Friday at Cincinnati. He is 2-3 with a 3.81 ERA in nine career starts at Great American Ball Park.