Logan Schafer seizes moment, fuels Milwaukee road win

The 2013 Milwaukee Brewers have had a horrible string of luck with regard to injuries. Eight Brewers currently reside on the disabled list, saddled with injuries ranging from thumb contusions (Ryan Braun) to formerly torn knee ligaments (Corey Hart).

On Saturday, though, fate finally smiled on the Brewers.

Logan Schafer must've felt especially fortunate, as he continued his torrid stretch by going 3-for-4 to pace Milwaukee's 6-0 road win in Cincinnati -- the Brewers' first shutout victory of 2013.

"It's nice to come out here and get a shutout, and get a few runs across and get a win," said Schafer, after his second straight three-hit outing.

Milwaukee, now 12-19 on the road this season, exorcised some recent demons against Cincinnati, as the Brewers had been winless in four games this season against the Reds. The Brewers (28-39) have now won six of their last eight games overall.

"Six-nothing, we don't have many of those," manager Ron Roenicke noted in FOX Sports Wisconsin's postgame interview. "It's nice to be able to kind of relax."

Schafer produced most of the offensive fireworks Saturday for Milwaukee, including a two-run double to the left-field corner in the top of the sixth inning. That hit handed the visiting Brewers a 6-0 lead.

In the fifth, Schafer also spurred a key frame. The outfielder -- seeing extended action now that Braun is on the DL -- hooked an off-speed pitch to the right-field corner to start a Brewers threat. Then, Schafer promptly scored on Juan Francisco's prodigious opposite-field home run, a blast that gave his club a 4-0 advantage.

"It is a little comforting getting some at-bats in a row," said Schafer, who's hitting .410 over his last 13 games. "I'm just trying to push myself across home plate and, hopefully, knock a few in."

Schafer and company supplied more than enough offense to support starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo. The righthander kept the Reds' offense at bay all day. In six innings, Gallardo (6-6) yielded just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. His economical, 96-pitch effort marked his seventh quality start of the season.

"I've felt good the past two starts -- the past three starts, really," Gallardo explained. "Seems like things are falling together. I'm able to find that rhythm and just stay within myself."

Milwaukee returns to action versus Cincinnati (41-28) at 12:10 p.m. Sunday. And the Brewers hope to be spurred by similar youthful exuberance to that which Schafer, 26, put on display Saturday.

"We have a bunch of young guys," Gallardo noted. "We've just got to keep moving forward."