ESPN

Yovani Gallardo did what aces are supposed to do, shutting out the Pirates for eight innings, and yet, his teammates weren't allowing Gallardo any room for error. As Milwaukee went to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, the scoreboard displayed nothing but goose eggs. So Gallardo, who had already lost a 1-0 game this year to the Mets, took matters into his own hands. He blasted an 0-2 pitch from Ian Snell over the left field wall and gave himself the run he needed to beat Pittsburgh, 1-0.

However, even after eight shutout innings, a home run, and 11 strikeouts, Gallardo still had to sweat his way through a 15-pitch ninth inning from Carlos Villanueva before he was able to add the victory to his resume. With the complete game slowly going the way of the human appendix, starting pitchers all over the league are even more reliant on their bullpens to earn those wins, and quite frankly, the 'pens are not mightier than the bats they are facing.

Case 1: Johan Santana allows two runs in the first inning, then settles down and leaves the game after seven with a 3-2 lead. Enter J.J. Putz, and one inning later, the Marlins are ahead 4-3.

Case 2: Fausto Carmona is breezing along in the seventh inning and leaves the game with a 5-2 lead when his pitch count reaches 114. Enter Rafael Betancourt, and one inning later, the Red Sox have tied the game 5-5, and go on to win in 10 innings on a Jonathan Van Every home run.

Case 3: Joba Chamberlain allows only three hits to the Tigers in seven innings, but is pulled after only 88 pitches by Joe Girardi, thanks to those darn "Joba Rules." Phil Coke protects the 8-1 lead in the eighth, but then … enter Jonathan Albaladejo and before you know it, Mariano Rivera is on the mound closing out an 8-6 victory.

Certainly starters can't be expected to pitch complete games every time they take the mound. But have major league managers forgotten that April wins are every bit as important as the ones in September? I get the need to pace your rotation so it'll make it through a long season in one piece, but on days when starters are getting the job done, why is it so hard to let them finish what they started?

Let them do it themselves, or it may not get done at all.

Previous editions: 4/29: Hughes returns with a flourish | 4/28: Hanley injures wrist

• Doug Davis certainly could have done it by himself, allowing only two hits to the Cubs in seven innings, but at least we can understand pulling him with a 10-run cushion. Of course, that kind of run support is a luxury, especially for Davis, who is now 2-3 on the year, with Arizona having scored only six runs in his previous four starts.

• The Giants seem to understand how to treat their ace. Tim Lincecum was breezing along against the Dodgers, leading 7-0 after seven. Still, Lincecum was allowed to start the eighth inning, and it was only after he failed to retire the first four hitters that San Francisco went to the 'pen. Sure, a little damage was done, but the Giants still won 9-4, and the next time Lincecum gives up a leadoff hit in a close game, he's not going to be looking over his shoulder, wondering if Bruce Bochy is on his way to the mound with the hook.

• Billy Butler raised his batting average nearly 50 points with a 4-for-5 day, including two home runs against the Blue Jays. "I was happy to pick up my guys," Butler told the Kansas City Star. "That's the least I could do. They've been carrying the load for me for a couple of weeks now. I knew my time was coming." Fantasy owners certainly didn't, as Butler is currently down to being owned in only 4.1 percent of ESPN standard leagues, but perhaps this performance will keep that number from dipping any lower.

• The Rangers' game against the Athletics was rained out on Wednesday, and was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on May 29. Vicente Padilla is now scheduled to pitch on Thursday, while the A's will stick with Dallas Braden. Josh Outman, Wednesday's scheduled starter, will pitch for Oakland Sunday in Seattle. All of this is assuming that the rain in the forecast for Thursday in Arlington doesn't force that game to be postponed as well.

• Carlos Marmol was clearly not ready to return from his knee injury. Marmol couldn't find the plate at all, throwing 22 pitches with 17 of them missing the mark. Marmol walked four of the five batters he faced and all four came around to score. Of course, Marmol has an excuse. Kevin Gregg appeared later in the contest and walked three of the six batters he faced. After the 10-0 spanking, rest assured manager Lou Piniella is laughing the loss off, as just "one of those things." Yeah, right! Steer clear of the Cubs' clubhouse if you know what's best for you.

• Chris Iannetta was a hot sleeper pick in the spring, but saw his ESPN fantasy ownership drop by more than 8 percent in the past week with his batting average dipping below .100 for the season. However, perhaps the tide has finally turned. The Rockies' catcher hit a home run and drove in three in Colorado's 7-5 win on Wednesday, and in the past five games has raised his average 77 points. Sure, it's still below .200, but at least he can see the Mendoza Line on the horizon.

• In that Rockies' victory, Huston Street came on to get the save with strikeouts of all three Padres he faced. Manny Corpas had been given the day off, so Street's appearance wasn't a surprise. However, with Corpas having given up two hits in each of his past four outings, to go along with two losses … perhaps it's not Huston who has a problem.