Gallardo hit hard once again, Brewers beaten by Padres 10-8

MILWAUKEE — Yovani Gallardo felt things slipping away from the start.

Coming off a sharp start, Gallardo was gone in a hurry Thursday as the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the San Diego Padres 10-8.

Gallardo (8-9) was tagged for six runs on eight hits and three walks in 3 2-3 innings. It was the second time in his last five starts that he lasted fewer than four innings.

In his previous outing, he pitched 6 1-3 shutout innings against Miami.

"It's definitely frustrating, especially coming after the start I had against the Marlins," Gallardo said. "The ball was up in the zone from the first pitch of the game. I had to make an adjustment but I wasn't able to do it today."

Gallardo went into this season with a reputation for being one of the staff's most reliable pitchers.

"It's one of those years. It's been up and down, nonstop," he said. "In the years before I've had a few rough starts here and there but I was able to make adjustments and put some good starts in a row. It's getting to a point where I might be overthinking. Sometimes you have to go back to the basics."

Gallardo's roller-coaster season also is confounding his manager.

"This is a guy that's been known for his consistency. This year he hasn't been able to do that," Ron Roenicke said. "We're certainly going to try to figure it out. We need him to pitch well for us. When he throws a fastball and misses, it's usually by inches. It's not by inches this year. I don't know why he's been as inconsistent as he has been this year but we need to get him back on track."

Carlos Quentin and Jesus Guzman homered for the Padres, who collected 16 hits.

Will Venable added two doubles in five at-bats and is now 28 for 71, a .394 average, in his career at Miller Park. The center fielder also made a diving grab of Norichika Aoki's liner with two outs and runners on second and third in the seventh inning, preserving the Padres' tenuous lead.

Edinson Volquez (8-8) worked into the sixth inning. Huston Street, the Padres' seventh pitcher, closed for his 18th save in 19 tries.

Volquez ran his career record to 22-8 against teams from the NL Central. He gave up six hits and three runs in 5 1-3 innings, walking three and striking out five.

Volquez knows he and his team might not have picked up the win if it wasn't for Venable's defensive gem.

"It was an unbelievable catch. He saved the game right there," Volquez said. "If the ball bounces, two guys score and probably tie the game. That was big time."

Roenicke said he thought at first that the ball had skipped off the grass before coming to rest in Venable's glove.

"I saw movement in the glove which made me believe the ball hit the ground first," Roenicke said.

Roenicke changed his mind after getting word that a replay showed that Venable caught the ball.

"He got his little finger underneath it and flipped the ball into his glove," he said. "They were right on (with the call)."

Quentin hit a sacrifice fly in the first, then hit a two-run homer in the third. Yonder Alonso doubled and scored in the third and added a two-run double in the fourth for a 6-0 lead.

Yuniesky Betancourt homered in the Milwaukee fourth and Carlos Gomez connected in the sixth.

The Padres got four runs in the seventh for a 10-3 lead, capped by Guzman's two-run pinch-hit homer.

Milwaukee rallied with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Aoki homered and Caleb Gindl hit a two-run double.

NOTES: Ryan Braun's locker at Miller Park was absent of most personal items except for a few jerseys and a bat prior to the game, three days after he was suspended for the remainder of the season by Major League Baseball. Braun remained unavailable for comment on Thursday. A team spokesman said Braun texted him a message stating that he wants to speak with the media but isn't "legally" permitted at this time. ... Milwaukee reliever Michael Gonzalez threw two wild pitches in the seventh inning. ... Following the game, the Brewers announced that 1B Sean Halton will be optioned to Triple-A Nashville. Rob Wooten, Nashville's closer, will be brought up. "He's got a nice cutter and locates the ball. He's saved a lot of games and doesn't mind being in that pressure situation," Roenicke said.