1.   Once a starter has left early, the Padres have been forced to use their weak middle relievers, who have come in only to make matters worse.

2.   Once the starters left, both bullpens repeatedly danced around danger.

3.   Pirates starter ZANE SMITH left the game in the bottom of the second inning with a strained right hamstring.

4.   Seattle starter Sterling Hitchcock left after just three innings work.

5.   That kept the Mariners close, and they rallied for four runs when Indians starter Bartolo Colon left in the sixth inning.

6.   The Bruins lost quarterback Cory Paus and watched four other starters leave with injuries.

7.   The Chiefs lost four free agents, and the impact was maximized when defensive starters Albert Lewis, Kevin Ross and Lonnie Marts all left in March.

8.   The Longhorns did not prepare for Oklahoma quarterback Jason White, who took over when starter Nate Hybl left with a shoulder injury midway through the second quarter.

9.   While the crowd no longer cringes when the starter leaves the game, the relievers other than Rocker still are working mainly in obscurity.

10.   Padres starter Sterling Hitchcock left in the fifth inning after straining his left elbow.