Pitching staff gets another day off

ARLINGTON -- It's not often that a team gets consecutive days off in May, but between the travel day the D-backs used to fly to Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday's rainout, their starting pitchers got yet another day of rest.

Brandon McCarthy was set to pitch Wednesday's series opener against the Rangers, but he started on Thursday. He allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season, in a 9-5 loss to Texas.

Everyone else in the rotation was pushed back a day, including Trevor Cahill, who was scheduled to start Sunday against the Cubs but will now pitch Monday against the Cardinals.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Cahill said. "Sometimes it's hard to stay sharp if you haven't been on the mound for a while. I think we're deep enough into the season where we'll take the rest."

Cahill, like many of his fellow starting pitchers, will get a week between starts. He gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits over eight innings in a 5-4 win over the Rangers on Monday.

"I'm not worried about them, but you want them to pitch," manager Kirk Gibson said. "We planned on them getting a day already, so they don't need to get an extra one."