Dustin McGowan was tagged for six runs in four-plus innings by the Orioles on Wednesday. McGowan says he's healthy, but he talked after the game about hitting a wall after 60-65 pitches. If it continues, the Jays might figure they're better off with him in the bullpen. He's currently carrying a 6.88 ERA through four starts.

Dustin McGowan yielded three runs in four innings Thursday in a no-decision against the Twins. McGowan walked four tonight. He was terrific against the Orioles last week, but he's been ineffective in his other two starts to date. Given the likelihood of an injury down the line, he doesn't have much value in AL-only leagues.

Dustin McGowan tossed 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball in a 2-0 win over the Orioles on Friday night. The win was his first in the majors since June 22, 2008. McGowan held the Orioles to just five hits (four of them singles) and one walk while hitting two batters. He notched two strikeouts. Who knows how long he'll hold up, but he's a really easy story to root for.

Dustin McGowan has been named the Blue Jays' fifth starter. He'll join R.A. Dickey, Drew Hutchison, Mark Buehrle, and Brandon Morrow in Toronto's rotation and will start the team's home opener. Meanwhile, J.A. Happ will begin the season on the disabled list due to a back injury. McGowan has only made four starts at the major league level since 2008 and remains a poor bet to stay healthy, but it will be an interesting story to follow at the very least.

Dustin McGowan threw four innings Tuesday in a minor league game. McGowan, who is suddenly being stretched out as a starter for the pitching-hungry Blue Jays, said he felt "great" during the outing. The 32-year-old is a poor bet to stay healthy, but he could have the leg up on Todd Redmond for the final rotation spot.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons indicated Saturday that the team's plan is still to stretch out Dustin McGowan to see if he could possibly handle a spot in the team's rotation. The Jays are severely hurting for starting pitching depth, and their back-end of the rotation looks questionable at best to begin the regular season. McGowan has always had talent, but has been unable to stay on the field, throwing a total of 46 2/3 innings since the 2008 end of the 2008 season.

Dustin McGowan will begin the season in the bullpen. McGowan successfully lobbied to be stretched out as a starter in spring training, but Toronto is apparently not willing to risk injury to the brittle right-hander by asking him to carry a starting load. The Blue Jays may elect to use him as a long reliever. "He's kind of in limbo there; we want to be able to stretch him out anyway," manager John Gibbons said when asked if McGowan had been eliminated from consideration for a starting spot. "If he's in the 'pen for multiple innings that would benefit us quite a bit down there. We know he can do two. If he can do three, that would do wonders for us."

Dustin McGowan pitched three scoreless innings and fanned five in relief versus the Phillies on Thursday. McGowan pitched a total of four innings in his first three spring outings, but the Jays have decided to try stretching him out now. It's a bad idea in our opinion -- there's just so little chance of McGowan staying healthy as a starter -- but it's easy to see why they're doing so, given the way he's impressed with his stuff since returning last season.

Dustin McGowan will be stretched out as a starter in spring training. It was McGowan's idea to be stretched out, and the Jays have obliged even though they're worried about his lengthy injury history. "It's kind of a touchy thing," said manager John Gibbons. "I mean, it was as a starter that he had all his problems. But, then again, maybe that's all behind him." Toronto has at least one rotation spot up for grabs, but they still seem likely to sign a starter. Even if they don't, the odds are good that McGowan will wind up in the bullpen. That's assuming he's not on the DL, of course.

Blue Jays activated RHP Dustin McGowan from the 15-day disabled list. McGowan returns after missing an entire month of action with a strained right oblique muscle. The oft-injured 31-year-old looked good before hitting the DL, posting a 2.12 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 17/9 K/BB ratio over 17 frames.