Gallardo looks to stay perfect vs. D-Backs

MILWAUKEE -- Yovani Gallardo readily calls this start the biggest of his career. Ian Kennedy hoped for any chance to pitch again this season.

"It's definitely a whole different atmosphere," Gallardo said. "Anything can happen."

The Diamondbacks look to complete their biggest rally of the season after being down 0-2 when they face the Brewers tonight in Game 5 of the NLDS with a berth in the NL Championship Series at stake.

It's a rematch of Game 1 starters when the Brewers' Gallardo bested Kennedy to keep his perfect record against the Diamondbacks intact. Milwaukee won the first two games at Miller Park, where the Brewers had a major-league-best 57 home victories in the regular season, before Arizona stayed alive by winning the next two in Phoenix.

"I don't think anything in the past will carry over into Milwaukee," Diamondbacks centerfielder Chris Young said. "It's pretty much a one-game playoff. Everybody talks about Milwaukee's home record and our record on the road or whatever, but that's over an entire season.

"We have to deal with this one game that we have coming up and the game's really open to anybody."

Gallardo retired 14 of 15 at one point, allowing one run and four hits in eight innings in a 4-1 victory in Game 1. The 25-year-old righthander is 6-0 with a 1.18 ERA in six career starts against Arizona, but acknowledges he's never pitched in an elimination game on any level.

"I just try to stay as relaxed as I can. I'm the same person no matter what. So it's going to be a little bit tougher, but I just have to stay out there, relax, and just pitch my game and see what happens," Gallardo said. "I would say definitely it is the most important game in my career."

Milwaukee used a five-run sixth inning to win, 9-4, in Game 2, but the beastly offensive attack ended in Arizona, where the Diamondbacks won both games facing elimination.

Kennedy, a 21-game winner, could do little but wait to see if he'd even get another chance to pitch this season after being knocked out of the first game when Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

"When you're down 0-2 you just know every single game matters," Kennedy said. "I was willing to do anything, anything possible, just to help out in any possible way."

Arizona battled back in every way in Phoenix, including when catcher Miguel Montero helped begin a celebration they coined "The Snake" to answer Milwaukee's arms-raised bravado of "Beast Mode."