Congrats to Yovani Gallardo for his first career complete game last night, a fantastic effort against the Astros in which he prominently featured his fastball, curveball, and slider, consistently working at several velocity levels (at 93+ and the 90 MPH range with his fastball, at 85 MPH with his change up and slider, and at 80 MPH, mostly with his curveball). My reading of his breakdown, according to MLB GameDay pitch f/x, is something like 65 fastballs, 19 curveballs, 15 sliders, 2 change ups, and 3 untracked / unknown.
This is one of Gallardo's best characteristics as a pitcher. He can afford to keep his 93 MPH fastball in his back pocket with two strong breaking pitches and a change up to boot. He can finesse his fastball up there, pitching it like a two-seamer, and he can also rush it up there with pretty strong movement. Gallardp is already showing his potential to be a pitcher in the truest sense of the word.
Here is how Gallardo's outing compares with other pitchers who completed their first career CG with the Brewers. By my count, there are 48-such pitchers. The last 10 Brewers' first career complete games are underlined; Gallardo's CG was the first since Chris Capuano's first career CG on April 30, 2006.
Here are the top ten, ranked by Game Score:
1. Chris Bosio (August 28, 1987): 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 8 K/3 BB (88 GSc).
2. Cal Eldred (September 13, 1992): 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 12 K/1 BB (86 GSc).
3. Wayne Franklin (May 21, 2003): 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 K/2 BB (86 GSc).
4. Bob Gibson (September 15, 1984): 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 7 K/5 BB (85 GSc).
5. Jeff D’Amico (June 23, 1997): 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 6 K/0 BB (85 GSc).
6. Chris Capuano (April 30, 2006): 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 6 K/0 BB (83 GSc).
7. Teddy Higuera (May 3, 1985): 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 K/1 BB (82 Gsc).
8. Ben Sheets (May 29, 2001): 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 K/1 BB (79 GSc).
9. Jim Colborn (July 16, 1972): 9 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 K/2 BB (79 GSc).
10. Jim Slaton (June 24, 1971): 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 K/4 BB (78 GSc).
And, the remainder of the list:
11. Larry Anderson (September 28, 1975): 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 K/2 BB (78 GSc).
12. Ed Sprague (June 26, 1974): 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 5 K/2 BB (78 GSc).
13. Angel Miranda (August 7, 1993): 9 IP, 6 H,1 R, 10 K/3 BB (78 GSc).
14. Wes Obermueller (September 25, 2004): 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 K/1 BB (77 GSc).
15. Victor Santos (April 22, 2005): 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 4 K/0 BB (77 GSc).
16. Yovani Gallardo (April 24, 2009): 9 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 7 K/0 BB (76 GSc).
17. Juan Nieves (May 6, 1986): 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 K/5 BB (74 GSc).
18. Scott Karl (October 1, 1995): 9 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2K/0 BB (73 GSc).
19. Larry Sorenson (June 24, 1977): 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 K/3 BB (73 GSc).
20. Andy Replogle (May 13, 1978): 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 K/2 BB (73 GSc).
21. Eduardo Rodriguez (July 7, 1973): 9 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 6 K/3 BB (72 GSc).
22. Jaime Cocanower (October 1, 1983): 9 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 K/0 BB (72 GSc).
23. Steve Woodard (April 23, 1999): 9 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 5 K/1 BB (71 GSc).
24. Matt Kinney (June 27, 2003): 9 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 4 K/1 BB (70 GSc).
25. Kevin Kobel (May 12, 1974): 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 K/0 BB (69 GSc).
26. Tom Filer (May 29, 1988): 9 IP, 5 H 2 R, 2 K/2 BB (69 GSc).
27. Gary Ryerson (June 28, 1972): 9 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 5 K/0 BB (68 GSc).
28. Bill Travers (June 24, 1975): 9 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 5 K/2 BB (68 GSc).
29. Jerry Augustine (September 27, 1975): 9 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 4 K/1 BB (68 GSc).
30. Bob McClure (September 1, 1980): 9 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 K/4 BB (68 GSc).
31. Ricky Bones (August 8, 1993): 9 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 4 K/3 BB (68 GSc).
32. Bill Parsons (April 13, 1971): 9 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 6 K/6 BB (67 GSc).
33. Moose Haas (May 13, 1977): 9 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 7 K/4 BB (66 GSc).
34. Barry Cort (May 3, 1977): 9 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 5 K/1 BB (65 GSc).
35. Don August (June 12, 1988): 9 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 4 K/2 BB (63 GSc).
36. Chuck Porter (June 20, 1983): 8 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 K/1 BB (61 GSc).
37. Brian Clutterbuck (April 25, 1989): 9 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 K/0 BB (60 GSc).
38. Mark Knudson (August 17, 1987): 9 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 K/0 BB (59 GSc).
40. Jose Mercedes (June 26, 1997): 8 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 5 K/2 BB (59 GSc).
41. Bill Wegman (May 3, 1986): 9 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 K/0 BB (58 GSc).
42. Rafael Novoa (August 5, 1993): 8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 K/1 BB (58 GSc).
43. Allen Levrault (May 30, 2001): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 5 K/0 BB (58 GSc).
44. Skip Lockwood (May 20, 1970): 8 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 4 K/1 BB (55 GSc).
45. Gary Beare (September 7, 1976): 9 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 8 K/2 BB (55 GSc).
46. Mike Birkbeck (May 17, 1987): 8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 K/3 BB (55 GSc).
47. Steve Sparks (June 12, 1995): 9 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 K/4 BB (55 GSc).
48. Tom Hausman (August 1, 1975): 8 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 K/1 BB (54 GSc).
Gallardo's control is his characteristic, and as you can see, he has one of the best K/BB ratios of pitchers who registered their first career CG with the Brew Crew. Here are the best "control" games of the list, noted by posting at least a 4/1 K/BB ratio:
2. Cal Eldred (September 13, 1992): 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 12 K/1 BB (86 GSc).
5. Jeff D’Amico (June 23, 1997): 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 6 K/0 BB (85 GSc).
6. Chris Capuano (April 30, 2006): 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 6 K/0 BB (83 GSc).
7. Teddy Higuera (May 3, 1985): 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 K/1 BB (82 Gsc).
15. Victor Santos (April 22, 2005): 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 4 K/0 BB (77 GSc).
16. Yovani Gallardo (April 24, 2009): 9 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 7 K/0 BB (76 GSc).
23. Steve Woodard (April 23, 1999): 9 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 5 K/1 BB (71 GSc).
24. Matt Kinney (June 27, 2003): 9 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 4 K/1 BB (70 GSc).
27. Gary Ryerson (June 28, 1972): 9 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 5 K/0 BB (68 GSc).
29. Jerry Augustine (September 27, 1975): 9 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 4 K/1 BB (68 GSc).
34. Barry Cort (May 3, 1977): 9 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 5 K/1 BB (65 GSc).
36. Chuck Porter (June 20, 1983): 8 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 K/1 BB (61 GSc).
43. Allen Levrault (May 30, 2001): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 5 K/0 BB (58 GSc).
44. Skip Lockwood (May 20, 1970): 8 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 4 K/1 BB (55 GSc).
45. Gary Beare (September 7, 1976): 9 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 8 K/2 BB (55 GSc).