PITTSBURGH -- Yovani Gallardo and the Milwaukee Brewers are proving to be quite a headache for the NL Centrals top teams. Gallardo pitched seven sharp innings and Aramis Ramirez homered against his former club, helping Milwaukee beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Thursday night. The fourth-place Brewers closed out a 4-2 road trip, taking two of three at third-place Cincinnati before repeating the feat against second-place Pittsburgh. "It was absolutely a good road trip," manager Ron Roenicke said. "We pitched great in the games we won and our offence, especially the younger guys, continued to do good things." The Pirates fell one game behind NL Central-leading St. Louis, which was idle. The Cardinals start a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Friday night. Making his Pirates debut, John Buck went 3 for 3 while subbing for starting catcher Russell Martin. Pittsburgh acquired Buck and outfielder Marlon Byrd from the New York Mets on Tuesday. "It kind of gets you into the flow to have a game like this," Buck said. "Now you feel like youre part of the team and its exciting to be part of this team. Im really looking forward to the St. Louis series. Games like that are what you play for." Gallardo (10-9) allowed six hits and walked one while improving to 11-4 in his career against the Pirates, including a 5-2 record at PNC Park. Gallardo has given up just two earned runs in 19 1-3 innings in three starts since coming off the disabled list, including a pair of solid outings against the Reds. He was sidelined with a strained hamstring and the injury gave him time to work on his delivery with pitching coach Rick Kranitz. "Going on the DL took some of the pressure off," Gallardo said. "I wanted to fix everything all at once. Obviously, its tough to do that when youre getting ready to compete every four or five days against big league hitters. I was able to tweak a few things and now I feel like Im in the rhythm to be the type of pitcher I can be." Brandon Kintzler pitched the final two innings of the six-hitter. Ramirez hit his ninth home run of an injury-marred season leading off the fourth inning, giving Milwaukee a 3-0 lead. Ramirez, who broke into the major leagues with Pittsburgh in 1998, hit his 350th career homer Tuesday in the series opener. Pittsburgh rookie Gerrit Cole (6-7) pitched a career-high 7 1-3 innings in his 14th start. He allowed four runs and 10 hits. "The fifth, sixth and seventh innings were as good as hes been since he got here," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "He did a good job of getting into a groove later in the game and Gerrit gets credit for that and Buck gets credit, too, for working him through some tough spots." The 22-year-old Cole was pitching on seven days rest as the Pirates continue to find spots to limit his workload. Cole has pitched a combined 153 1-3 innings between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis after working 132 last year in his first professional season. A throwing error by Cole led to a first-inning run for Milwaukee. Cole threw wildly to first on a pickoff attempt and Jean Segura advanced two bases before scoring on Jonathan Lucroys single. The Brewers added another run in the second when Carlos Gomez led off with a single, stole second and scored on rookie Khris Davis double. Lucroy drove in his second run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Scooter Gennett, a rookie second baseman, had three hits for Milwaukee, raising his batting average to .336 in 40 games. Segura and Gomez added two each. "I like facing guys who throw hard like Cole," Gennett said. "I can gear up for the fastball at 95, 96, 97 and that makes the breaking stuff seems slower than it is." Pittsburgh put runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings but came away empty. Gallardo then set down nine of his last 10 batters before being lifted for a pinch hitter. "Theres a concern when your ace isnt pitching like your ace," Roenicke said. "Hes been pitching great since he came off the DL. The way hes been pitching now gives all of us, including Yo, a good feeling looking ahead to next season." NOTES: Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte, who has been on the disabled list since Aug. 19 with a bruised right hand, has been swinging a bat with his left hand and may be able to start taking batting practice next week, a week earlier than planned. ... Milwaukee RF Norichika Aoki didnt start. He has been getting regular days off to rest his sore right knee. He grounded out when he hit for Gallardo. ... Pittsburgh LHP Francisco Liriano (14-6, 2.74 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night against St. Louis RHP Shelby Miller (12-8, 2.90 ERA). ... The Brewers face the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in the opener of a three-game series, with RHP Wily Peralta (8-13, 4.51 ERA) going up against RHP Jered Weaver (8-7, 3.46 ERA). Under Armour Clearance Australia . Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Houston Texans No. 1 pick in the draft, was on the field Tuesday for the first time with former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J. Under Armour Australia Outlets . The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night. http://www.underarmouraustraliawholesale.com/ .C. - Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek says guard Goran Dragic will return to the starting lineup against the Charlotte Hornets after missing the last two games with a strained back. Under Armour Shoes Sale Australia . - Carter Verhaeghe scored the winner with 41 seconds to go as the Niagara IceDogs edged the North Bay Battalion 3-2 to even their first-round series at a game apiece in Ontario Hockey League playoff action on Sunday. Under Armour Wholesale Australia . - Bryan Price sat down in the cushy chair. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Moments after James Shields struck out Rockies slugger Troy Tulowitzki, catcher Salvador Perez popped to his feet behind the plate and demanded the ball. Shields raised his hands in utter confusion. "He was like, Whats going on? This is a good ball. I like this ball," Royals manager Ned Yost said, "and Salvy is making me throw the ball back in." It took Shields a moment -- and some help from the scoreboard -- to realize he had just reached 1,500 career strikeouts. It came in the sixth inning Tuesday night as he struck out the side, highlighting Kansas Citys 5-1 victory over hot-hitting Colorado. "Normally when the umpire calls for the ball, the hitter is checking the ball or whatever, wants to take it out of play," Shields said with a grin. "And Im like, I just struck the guy out! But once they pointed at the scoreboard I knew what was going on." The only run Shields (5-3) allowed came on an RBI single by Justin Morneau in the fourth inning. Shields wound up striking out eight without issuing a walk over seven sharp innings. Perez helped him out with the bat, too, hitting a solo homer. Alcides Escobar drove in a pair of runs and Lorenzo Cain added a two-run shot to provide plenty of support. Franklin Morales (3-3) gave up four runs for the Rockies. He allowed eight hits and four walks without a strikeout in five innings, needing 99 pitches just to get that far. "I need to pitch better, man, because thats my job," he said. "I try to do the best I can, but when Im behind in the count every time I got in trouble." The Royals jumped on Morales right from the start, a pair of double plays the only thing keeping the game from getting out of hand early. Still, Kansas City was able to coax a run across on a two-out single by Escobar to take the lead in the second inning. Cain made it a 3-1 lead with his two-run shot in the fourth. It was the first home run by the Royals injury-prone ooutfielder since July 4 against Cleveland.dddddddddddd The ball landed in the bullpen in left field to end a drought for Cain spanning 206 at-bats. Perez added his solo shot in the fifth, the ball landing in just about the same spot. That was more than enough support for Shields, who induced a double play to escape a jam in the second inning and then left two runners aboard in the fourth during a nice bounce-back performance at Kauffman Stadium. In his previous home start, Shields allowed eight runs and 12 hits in a loss to Detroit. "He did a good job of shutting this lineup down," Rockies catcher Jordan Pacheco said. When Shields recorded his milestone strikeout, the crowd at the K gave him a standing ovation. Shields appeared to be confused by the spontaneous applause, raising his hands on the mound as if to say, "What?" Eventually, he turned around on the rubber to see his strikeout mark on the giant video board in centre field and started chuckling. After stepping off the back of the mound, Shields tipped his cap and went back to work. He struck out Carlos Gonzalez to end the inning, then set down the Rockies in order in the seventh, finishing off his night by striking out Brandon Barnes for the second time. "I knew about 10 days ago I was getting close," Shields said. "To be honest with you, I didnt even know how many strikeouts I had in the game. But that was a pretty special moment. Once I realized it, its kind of crazy to think -- 1,500 strikeouts is quite a bit of strikeouts." NOTES: RHP Tommy Kahnle threw two shutout innings in relief for Colorado. ... The Royals placed 2B Omar Infante (sore back) on the DL and selected the contract of INF Pedro Ciriaco from Triple-A Omaha. ... The Rockies activated Josh Rutledge (illness) from the DL and optioned him to Triple-A Colorado Springs. ... LHP Jason Vargas will start Wednesday for Kansas City. RHP Jhoulys Chacin takes the mound for Colorado. ' ' '