Showalter on Gallardo and Alvarez

Orioles reliever Brad Brach played catch in the outfield this afternoon and had a light bullpen session, throwing eight to 10 pitches before heading back inside.

Brach hasn't appeared in a game since Tuesday night in Minnesota and manager Buck Showalter wants to use him tonight if the circumstances allow it.

Showalter would like to lay off a couple of relievers. Closer Zach Britton and set-up man Darren O'Day have pitched the last two nights and in the last three games.

Showalter said bullpen coach Dom Chiti and head athletic trainer Richie Bancells were "very pleased" with Yovani Gallardo's throwing session today. Gallardo played catch from 60 feet and will increase the distance on Monday's off-day.

"Pretty firm," Showalter said. "He goes to 90 feet the day after tomorrow, then 120 feet. I've got the whole schedule on my calendar. I got it from Richie to the point where he hopefully will throw off a mound. So far, so good.

"That was a good step for him. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. It wasn't just flipping it, he was throwing. It's got some intensity to it."

Strengthening the shoulder should lead to better command.

"That's what Dom was talking today," Showalter said. "You could see him, that some of his arm action was even better. This is a guy that had great command and that's one of the first things you know when a guy's not feeling well, when they lose command.

"I know with the Tommy John thing, that's the first thing you see. The velocity, but you see just a total loss of command and I'm not 100 percent sure why. But with experience through the years, that's what I've noticed. When I see somebody doing that, I say, 'Oh, what's going on here?'

"That's what I'm hoping that when he gets back, the stuff and the command is going to be better."

As I noted in my last blog entry, Showalter wouldn't reveal when Gallardo begins his rehab assignment in the minors.

"Richie has got it all the way through the end," Showalter said, "but we're going to hold off getting public about that until he gets to the mound part."

Tonight's lineup includes Pedro Alvarez at third base for the first time as an Oriole. He hasn't manned the hot corner since the 2014 season.

Alvarez has been used at third base in three games this season totaling six innings. He hasn't forgotten where to find it.

Showalter gave Alvarez a heads-up about his pending start.

"I talked to him a little bit in Minnesota," Showalter said. "We haven't even played 40 games yet. It's one thing I'm trying to get done. I don't know if there's anyone on the field tonight that's played more game at third than Pedro. I know on our team there isn't. It's something that he's very experienced at. You've just got to get him out there.

"We play our next 120 some-odd games. We need to be able to know what we have with people at different places. There's only one way to do it. I also wanted to get (Hyun Soo) Kim in the game. He needs to play. Give Ryan (Flaherty) a day. It gives us some versatility off the bench. It gets Pete out there.

"He's been a great worker. He's been working at third base since he got here and first base to give us those options. We're going to have a need for him and Trum (Mark Trumbo) to play different places as we go forward. We've got to be equipped to handle it."

Former Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts will be part of the MASN broadcast team on Sunday. He visited Showalter and a couple of his former teammates today, including center fielder Adam Jones and infielder Flaherty.