Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo Arrested For DUI Early Tuesday Morning

According to Drew Olson of ESPN Wisconsin, Milwaukee Brewers starting pitching Yovani Gallardo was arrested for drunken driving early Tuesday morning . Milwaukee County Sheriffs Department spokesperson Fran McLaughlin told ESPN Wisconson that Gallardo was pulled over at 2:10 a.m. on Interstate 94.

Gallardo was originally pulled over for driving slowly and deviating lanes before failing a field sobriety test. The 27-year-old later registered a blood-alcohol level of .22 while Wisconsin’s legal limit is .08.

The Mexican right-hander is a first offender and will not spend time in jail, though his blood-alcohol level was almost three-times the legal limit. Gallardo could pay upwards of $800 for the offense which is only a citation.

In Wisconsin, a first-offender of drunken driving receives a citation instead of a misdemeanor or a felony. The six-year veteran won’t be so lucky if he gets behind the wheel drunk again and the Brewers aren’t taking any chances.

“We have been made aware of the situation with Yovani and we take this matter very seriously,” the Brewers said in a statement Tuesday morning. “We have expressed our disappointment to him and know he understands that behavior of this nature is of great concern to everyone in the organization.”

Gallardo is already off to a slow start this season with an 0-1 record and a 6.61 earned run average. He most recently lost to the St. Louis Cardinals after giving up five earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings pitched.

The 2010 All-Star won 16 games last season and has struck out 200 or more hitters in each of the last four seasons. Gallardo only has nine strikeouts in three starts this year as the Brewers have dropped to the bottom of the NL Central.

The Cardinals posted back-to-back shutouts against the Brewers on Friday and Saturday before the Brewers avoided the sweep in a 4-3 win on Sunday. The Brewers next take on the San Francisco Giants in a three-game set at Miller Park.

Gallardo is expected to pitch in game three on Thursday and that won’t change after the DUI early Tuesday. He’ll have to move past his drunken escapade if he hopes to get his first win of the season against the defending champs.

Will Yovani Gallardo stay focused in his next start after being arrested for a DUI on Tuesday?

[Image via Creative Commons]