No Run Support For Yo?

In what seems to be a disturbing trend for the ace of the Brewers pitching staff, Yovani Gallardo lost a 1-0 decision yesterday against the Mets.  It was the second time this season he's lost a game by a 1-0 score, and, coupling that with two 1-0 wins when he's on the bump, and the runs just don't seem to be coming when it's his day to pitch.

In this day in age, where new statistics are being created overnight to try and help GM's and managers determine who the best players are (OPS, Quality Starts, etc.), Gallardo seems to be engaging in quite a bit of pitcher's duels.  My definition of a pitcher's duel is one where the winning team scores three runs or less.  So basically, a game in which both pitcher's produce a quality start (6+ innings, 3 or less earned runs). 

Gallardo has had five such games this year, along with two games just on the outskirts (4-2 and 4-0 wins).  He's split his four 1-0 games, and took a tough loss in Detroit 3-2.  That's six of his sixteen starts right there.

Today I thought I would look at the run support that has been provided for each Brewers starter this season (with exceptions for Mike Burns - 2 starts - and Seth McClung - 1 start).  The stats didn't lie.  It's easy to see who the ace of the staff was, but breaking down the other four starters provided some slightly astonishing information.

Gallardo, Jeff Suppan, and Braden Looper have all made 16 starts this season, while Dave Bush has 14 and Manny Parra 13. 

The pitcher who receives the most run support is Looper, who's been given 86 runs in his starts for an average of 5.4 a game.  Dave Bush is in second, with 73 runs in 14 starts, a 5.2 average.  Suppan is third, with 70 runs in 16 starts, a 4.4 average.  And Parra (55 in 13) and Gallardo (67 in 16) each get about 4.2 runs a game.

On the flipside, while Gallardo is last in run support, he is first in runs allowed, as opponents average just 2.8 runs a game in his starts.  Second is Looper (4.6), then Bush (4.8), Suppan (5.0), and Parra (6.1).

Gallardo does lead the team in wins (8), and has the best winning percentage with a 8-5 record, but the team's overall record in his starts is 10-6.  That's the same as Looper, and just a game better than Suppan (9-7).  That's where the lack of run support starts to come in.  If an opponent averages just 2.8 runs a game, over the course of 16 starts, that record should be closer to 13-3, not 10-6. 

Now, in the beauty of the National League, a pitcher can help out his own cause by swining the bat and helping to produce runs.  When looking at this, it makes the Brewers lack of run support for Gallardo even more frightening.  In two of his eight wins, he has driven in enough runs to win the game for the Crew.  His first start (a 4-2 win) he hit a 3-run home run, and later in the year, he won a 1-0 game on a solo home run.  In two starts in which he went 2-0, he provided four of the five runs the Brewers scored in those games.

At the time when Yo won that 1-0 game, his record was 3-1.  He hasn't had a hit since, and his overall pitching record is 5-4.  And even though Brian Anderson continues to talk about how good of a hitter Yovani is, his numbers this season show otherwise.

Only Manny Parra has a lower batting average now than Gallardo does.  Here are the numbers for Brewers starters this season.

1. Jeff Suppan (5-23, 3 RBI) - .217
2. Braden Looper (4-27, 4 RBI) - .148
3. Dave Bush (3-21) - .143
4. Yovani Gallardo (4-31, 4 RBI) - .129
5. Manny Parra (2-18, 2 RBI) - .111

Maybe it's time Gallardo takes a few more swings in the cage before the game, as it doesn't appear the other eight guys in the lineup are going to put up runs for him.