Gallardo remains on a roll for the Rangers
TORONTO -- Yovani Gallardo was nearly unhittable, as the Rangers shut down one of the most potent offenses in the Majors on Saturday.
Gallardo delivered his longest outing of the season and extended his scoreless streak to 23 1/3 innings, as Texas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
"Anytime you get an outing like that from your pitcher, when you're on a six- game skid, you can call it a stopper-type performance," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said, after Gallardo went 8 1/3 innings as the Blue Jays were shut out at home for the first this season.
Gallardo's recent run of low to no runs allowed has been impressive. On his current seven-start unbeaten streak, he's allowed only five earned runs. He hasn't surrendered a homer over that span, while firing at least five innings and holding the opposition to five hits or fewer in each of those outings.
Needless to say, he's on a roll.
Video: TEX@TOR: Gallardo on his start vs. a strong lineup
"He was picking us apart pretty good. He was primarily pitching off his fastball, he did throw some cutters and occasionally some offspeed pitches. He was getting the strikes and the [strikeouts]," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He's got great command and he's known for that, too. That was a great pickup by those guys."
Gallardo allowed only three hits in his Saturday outing -- all of which were singles. He breezed through the opening three innings before allowing a single to Edwin Encarnacion in the fourth. He wouldn't allow another hit until Kevin Pillar swatted a two-out single in the eighth. Gallardo was lifted from the game in favor of closer Shawn Tolleson in the ninth, after he gave up a one-out single to Josh Donaldson.
Banister said he didn't think his starter was tiring. But with the heart of the Blue Jays' order coming to the plate in that last inning, he thought it best for them to get a look at another pitcher.
"We were going hitter to hitter -- and if [there would've] been two outs and one gets on, maybe it's a different story," Banister said. "But with the one out, I thought it was maybe time to go ahead and get Shawn in the game and give Bautista a different look. That's the heart of that lineup. Guys that they depend on. It felt like another look from another pitcher was probably necessary."
Gallardo was more intent on speaking about the team's success in snapping its losing streak than his own recent successes.
"It was a great win, period," said Gallardo. "We haven't played the way we've wanted to the last week, and to come out and get the win, it was big for us."