Yovani Gallardo and Buck Showalter on Gallardo's early exit

KANSAS CITY - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said tonight's starter, Yovani Gallardo, told him his shoulder didn't feel right after he had pitched the last of the second inning. Gallardo was taken out of the game at that point and will now head to Baltimore for further examination on Saturday.

Gallardo allowed hits to the first three batters he faced, and gave up three runs in the first inning and another run in the second in the Orioles' 4-2 loss to Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.

He threw 45 pitches, 26 for strikes, and allowed five hits and four runs in the two frames. Gallardo took the loss and is 1-1 with an ERA of 7.00 over four starts for his new team.

"My shoulder just didn't feel right," Gallardo said. "To be honest, it was one of those feelings that I've never had my whole career. I've never had any issues with my shoulder and I hadn't been. For some reason, in the bullpen, it just didn't feel right.

"I wasn't able to extend to get that release point. I think that's why the ball was just up and all over the place. Felt like the ball was coming out of my hand and the strength wasn't there. Hopefully, it wasn't anything serious. I'll go back to Baltimore tomorrow to see a doctor and we'll go from there."

Gallardo's start tonight matched the shortest start of his career. He also went just two innings on April 27, 2012 and allowed eight runs pitching for Milwaukee against St. Louis.

Opposing batters have hit .319 against Gallardo this year and his ERA is 15.75 in the first inning of his four starts. He has allowed 13 runs in 13 innings his last three starts after giving up one run in five innings on April 6 in his O's debut.

"It's one of those things," he said. "Just didn't feel right like the previous starts in spring and the season. I tried to go out there and hopefully it went away, but as the game went on, it just kept getting a little bit worse and worse each and every pitch that I made. It's just one of those things, it sucks. Try to go out there, not put the guys in a bad situation. T.J. (McFarland) came in and did a great job, picked me up. We'll see, just stay positive and hopefully it's nothing serious."

Does Gallardo feel there is a chance that this will turn out to be something that is not a major issue?

"I've been feeling fine," he said. "Especially my last start in Texas was the best stuff that I've had since the season started. Pretty good command of the fastball and then something like this happens. It's just one of those things. The most important thing is stay positive and see what happens when I see the doctor tomorrow.

"It's definitely frustrating. The last start I had in Texas, made it into the seventh inning, started to feel that rhythm and then something like this happens."

Showalter agreed with a reporter that Gallardo's velocity was down in some of his starts this year.

"He's a tick below, definitely a tick below," he said. "Everybody knows that. You're asking a question you already know the answer to. He's a couple ticks below, but a lot of guys, as they get on in their career, start off that way and pick up as the season goes on. He touched 90 (mph) two or three times the last time out in Texas, so we were hoping it would be a little bit better this time, but it wasn't."

Dr. Michael Jacobs, the Orioles' team orthopedist, will see Gallardo tomorrow, Showalter said.

"Their team doctor saw him, but he's not going to tell you a whole lot without doing some testing that Mike will do," Showalter added.

It is worth noting that the Orioles reportedly had concerns about Gallardo's shoulder around the time they agreed to sign him back in February. After originally being signed to a three-year deal, the contract was restructed to two guaranteed years with an option for a third season.

Gallardo took his physical on Feb. 22, but then the Orioles sent him for more diagnostic tests the following day. There were reports the deal might not get done.

But it did and the Orioles signed a pitcher that had proven to be durable. He was 102-75 with a 3.66 ERA in nine major league seasons and had made 30 or more starts in seven consecutive years entering the 2016 season.

As for tonight's game, the Orioles were held to five hits in the loss. J.J Hardy had an RBI single and Manny Machado a solo homer. It was No. 6 for Machado and gives him a 15-game hitting streak, a new career high and the longest active streak in the American League. Machado is batting .397 and has 13 extra-base hits in 15 games with seven doubles and six homers. He has recorded an extra-base hit in a career-best six consecutive games. That is the longest streak by an Oriole since Nelson Cruz did that in six straight games in 2014.

McFarland helped save the Orioles bullpen after Gallardo got just six outs. The left-hander pitched five scoreless innings of three-hit ball on 66 pitches. He is the first O's reliever to pitch five scoreless innings since Rick Bauer on April 10, 2004 against Tampa Bay. The O's bullpen has a 1.74 ERA for the season.

On Saturday night, Tyler Wilson (0-0, 1.13 ERA) pitches against Royals right-hander Kris Medlen (1-0, 2.38 ERA).