TORONTO - From this there will be no going back. Dustin McGowans time as a major league starting pitcher is over. Hes off to the bullpen to reprise the role in which he was so effective last season. He knows what to expect. He no longer has to worry about the relative brevity of his starts and the effect its had on the bullpen. There will be less stress about the pain in his arm on days in between starts. He wont have to concern himself with tiring and the role elevated blood sugar levels - McGowans a type 1 diabetic - may be playing in the fatigue. Theres a feeling of relief about being a reliever. "Yeah it is, actually, to tell you the truth," said McGowan. "That was one thing, when I left the office today, I kind of felt like there was a weight lifted off of my shoulder a little bit. Like, now I know what I can go do and what I need to do." McGowan met with manager John Gibbons in the skippers office on Thursday afternoon. Hed pitched into the fifth inning on Wednesday, leading to another night of taxing work for the bullpen. The question Gibbons had: how are you feeling? McGowan, as he promised he would be, was honest with his response. "Recovery is starting to get slower and slower and I was the first one that said that I would tell them when I started feeling a little sore," he said. The problems began after McGowans start in Pittsburgh, he said, when he noticed that hed be sore for the next four days, until the day before he was scheduled to pitch again. There was mutual agreement to pull the plug on the starting experiment. "To be honest with you I think it will prolong his career," said Gibbons. "I dont know how many total innings he threw last year but hes got to be close to that number this year. I think it would be a shame for him to get hurt out there again and his careers over." McGowan agrees. "Whos to say if I tried those two more starts, what if something did happen," said McGowan. "Thats something I didnt want to happen." McGowans had three significant shoulder surgeries, which wiped out his 2009 and 2010 seasons, most of 2011 and the entirety of 2012. He returned as a reliever last June and pitched well in 25 appearances, posting a 2.45 ERA and striking out a hitter per inning. The 32-year-old can now forge a relief career in peace. Last September, he asked for one more chance to start. He got it, in large part because Toronto failed to land free agent Ervin Santana and because J.A. Happ struggled in spring training and began the season on the disabled list. The reasons why dont matter, though, the fact is he got the opportunity. "I asked for the opportunity and they gave me the shot," said McGowan, whos 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA in 39 innings pitched this year. "Its been a little rocky but I got the opportunity and Im glad I did." WHO REPLACES McGOWAN? Given the Blue Jays roster volatility, its impossible to predict with certainty who will get the first shot at McGowans spot. Toronto has an off day on Monday, in between three-game series in Texas and Boston, meaning manager John Gibbons can push back a fifth starter as far as a week Saturday when the Jays are back home and playing Oakland. From the current roster, Gibbons could go young and give Marcus Stroman his first career start. He could give the ball to Todd Redmond, a noted strike thrower. Stroman, 23, has worked to mixed reviews in five appearances during his first stint in the big leagues. He got his first major league win, pitching 1 1/3 innings in an extra inning victory at Philadelphia on May 6. Following another scoreless appearance against the Phillies on May 8, however, Stroman has since eight earned runs and 11 hits in three innings over two outings. "Just got to make pitches," said Stroman. "Hitters are hitters and you can never give them too much credit. Just got to really make pitches, bear down, its the best hitters in the world so you dont have room to make mistakes and they hammer mistakes." Here are the pitching matchups for the weekend set in Texas: Friday - RHP Drew Hutchison (1-3, 4.37) vs. RHP Yu Darvish (3-1, 2.33)Saturday - LHP Mark Buehrle (7-1, 2.04) vs. LHP Robbie Ross (1-5, 5.04)Sunday - RHP R.A. Dickey (4-3, 4.53) vs. RHP Nick Martinez (0-1, 2.3 RASMUS TO THE DISABLED LIST He was hoping to avoid it but Colby Rasmus went on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 13, with tightness in his right hamstring. "He wasnt healing quick enough," said manager John Gibbons. "Its tough to play shorthanded so this way he can go on the DL, get rid of the thing completely and hell be good to go in a couple of weeks." Anthony Gose was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Rasmus roster spot. Gibbons plan is to platoon Gose, who hits left-handed, with right-handed hitting Kevin Pillar. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey . 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In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone.Raymond van Barneveld delivered a fantastic second-round performance to eliminate Adrian Lewis at the World Grand Prix. The enigmatic Dutchman won 3-0 after hitting 53 per cent of his doubles in Tuesdays clash, with Lewis left clutching at thin air as he pursued.Lewis missed five darts for the opening set and Van Barneveld, by virtue of missing just four efforts, stole a lead. Van Barneveld followed that up with a whitewash leg and Lewis looked appalled with himself as two attempts at a double went eschew and gave away the second set. Van Barneveld began the third set with a break, and Lewis sarcastically celebrated when he stopped a run of six straight legs to the Dutchman. Reaction from Raymond Van Barneveld after he beat Adrian Lewis But Lewis late efforts werent enough and Van Barneveld will next play Benito van de Pas, who beat Terry Jenkins 3-1, in the quarter-final. Terry Jenkins embarrassingly tried to shake hands with Benito van de Pas before hed even lost... Gary Anderson could afford to concede one sloppy set to Kyle Anderson in an otherwise dominant 3-1 win.The world champion, at 2-0 up, needed to wrap up just one more leg to end the match but somehow conspired to miss seven match darts. Gary Anderson remains on course for his first ever Grand Prix title The final leg as Gary Anderson beat Kyle Anderson His Australian namesake took advantage of that unlikely charity to put his name on the scoreboard but Gary Anderson soon extinguished his hopes.dddddddddddd Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. The Flying Scotsman, who won one leg before his opponent had left 501, will advance to the quarter-finals to meet Kim Huybrechts who was in brilliant form in dispatching Stephen Bunting. Gary Anderson reacts to his win Huybrechts allowed Bunting just two legs in a thunderous 3-0 victory punctuated by intense celebrations from the Belgian after every leg.Watch the World Grand Prix on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports at 7pm.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Sky Bets darts odds On Sky TV Schedule/Results Features ' ' '