Heading in opposite directions: Yovani Gallardo‘s eight frames of shutout ball earned him his fifth victory in five starts. During that stretch he’s allowed just 20 hits and five ER in 35 innings of work. His velocity is on the incline and he’s been spotting his fastball impeccably. On the other hand, Matt Cain surrendered 11 hits and five ER in six innings, and his earned run average has spiked to 3.88. For a pitcher that relies predominantly on his fastball, his consistent low 90’s clockings are extremely worrisome going forward.

Jonathan Lucroy has been a pleasant surprise offensively, but the 24-year old catcher took the golden sombrero on Sunday, whiffing in all four plate appearances. Nevertheless, his .322/5/24 stat line in 121 AB remains startling.

Darwin Barney notched two more knocks in the series finale against Pittsburgh, and now has 59 hits in 49 games. 50 of those hits have been singles, and he has only two extra base hits (both doubles) in the month of May.

It wasn’t a work of art, but Fernando Salas managed to save his ninth game in nine opportunities as the Cardinals took the rubber game in Colorado. Salas, who will turn 26 tomorrow, has earned himself a hearty celebration with his 0.97 WHIP and 1.59 ERA.

Clayton Kershaw tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just three Marlins to reach base while striking out 10. The Dodgers outhit the Fish 17-2 in about as one-sided a matchup as you’ll see all year.

Dustin Pedroia swiped two bases on Sunday, and has very quietly upped his season total to 12. He looks like a lock to cruise his past his career high of 20 (twice). His .247 BA is head scratching, but at least he’s finding others ways to contribute to the Sox and his fantasy owners. Pedroia also cracked his 4th homer of the year, a solo shot to left. Is there a laser show on the horizon?

Clay Buchholz threw six innings of three-run ball versus the Tigers, upping his consecutive quality start tally to six. His ERA during that stretch of 39 innings is 2.07.

Corey Patterson‘s last two games resemble a typical multi-week stretch. He has nine hits in 12 AB, blasted two HR, scored six runs and drove in four more. It’s hard to fathom, but he’s batting .301 with 24 RBI and 27 runs.

John Danks improved his stellar record to 0-8, getting smacked around for nine hits and nine runs in four innings at Toronto. The swing and misses are few and far between for the struggling left-hander.

Jeremy Hellickson held the Indians scoreless over seven innings earning his sixth victory of 2011. He is 5-1 in his last six starts with a 2.80 ERA. The strikeouts have been anything but plentiful, however, and he’s recording a high percentage of outs in the air.

It may seems like he has a hole in his bat at times, but Josh Willingham is a run producer. He took Zach Britton deep for his ninth bomb of the year, and drove in four runs to up his season total to 35. In spite of 25 May punch outs, he’s still knocked in 20 runs for the month.

With Wandy Rodriguez headed to the DL (elbow), youngster Jordan Lyles will step into the rotation. After a rocky start in the PCL, he’s cleaned up his act in May (2.81 ERA). The 20-year old right-hander more than held his own in spring training as well.

Written by Adam Ganeles exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team.

(May 17, 2011 – Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images North America)