Can Gallardo give the Orioles a clean first inning? (O's lose 7-6)

Whether Yovani Gallardo gives the Orioles a quality start tonight may hinge on how smoothly he comes out of the gate.

Not the bullpen gate. Tripping on the warning track isn't the concern. It's his tendency to get ambushed in the first inning.

Gallardo has surrendered 18 runs in the opening frame this season, his largest total, and has posted an 8.10 ERA. Opponents are batting .321. He's surrendered 26 hits, including six home runs, and walked 15 batters.

If there were a simple solution, the Orioles would have implemented it and moved on to other tasks.

"He's not the only pitcher like that," said manager Buck Showalter. "It's something that's been that way from the time Abner Doubleday invented this game. It's like boxers sparring around the first round and feeling things out. It's like football teams waiting for that first tackle before they kind of get in the flow. Pitchers are the same way.

"There's been some really, really good pitchers that had that issue. But, you'd like to solve it. It's one thing to identify an issue, it's another one to try to rectify it.

Gallardo is working on eight days' rest. Perhaps the change will bring better results early in the game.

"I've got a good feeling that he's going to pitch well tonight and he's looking forward to this start," Showalter said. "I know he's not too happy with the manager about waiting around this long."

Gallardo owns a career 4.78 ERA in the first inning and opponents are batting .273 - his highest totals of any inning. He has a 2.73 ERA in the second inning and opponents are batting .216.

The Orioles have 34 players on their roster, with extra lockers installed in the clubhouse. Reliever Darren O'Day will be the 35th when he comes off the disabled list on Sunday or Monday.

Outfielder Joey Rickard could be the 36th.

"Doesn't mean we can't send somebody back to Sarasota," said Showalter, who detests a crowded clubhouse and dugout.

Having Paul Janish here gives the Orioles an extra infielder while Steve Pearce is unable to play.

"I took a chance last night taking (Ryan) Flaherty out of the game," Showalter said. "If we have a problem in the infield, we have an issue."

Jonathan Schoop collided with Chris Davis last night while running down a foul pop up, and the Orioles' infield vulnerability struck Showalter with the same force.

"I was going, 'Did we wait a day too long to activate Janish?'" Showalter recalled. "If Flaherty plays and you pinch-hit for him, that shouldn't be the case in September. We even talked about bringing up some other guys."

With Chris Lee recalled and moved to the 60-day disabled list, he can receive a prorated major league salary while his service clock begins to tick.

Pearce's return could be a moving target, with the Orioles not wanting him to rush back and risk a more serious injury. He may require seven-to-10 days following the platelet-rich plasma injection before performing baseball activities.

"Richie (Bancells) and I talked about it and we talked about it before I came down here about the reality of Pearce," Showalter said. "We've got a good feel for it, what it means for Steve for the rest of the season."

Again, the club isn't providing much detail beyond the PRP injection.

The Orioles would like Rickard to come off the 60-day disabled list on Monday, but it may not happen.

"I don't want to get too fast on Rickard, either," Showalter said. "He's going to play Friday and Saturday. We're hoping. Monday is the earliest. See how he comes out of that.

"I was talking to a couple people that have been with him. Trying to get an idea. Don't want to move too fast, but we're hopeful for Monday. We'll see."

Mike Wright is back after pitching a simulated game yesterday in Sarasota.

"Just add some more length," Showalter said. "He came real close originally, but kind of where we are we want to be able to cover things and keep from pitching anybody. There's some other reasons that really don't behoove anybody to talk about as far as who might be doing well, who may not be. Someone may be a little less productive potentially than they were at some point in the year.

"You're trying to take every little inch you can and try to put your best foot forward and there might come a situation that Mike could help us in. He's not starting Sunday, though, if that's what somebody's thinking."

Left-hander Wade Miley is expected to get the Sunday start versus the Rays.

"We're leaning toward Miley," Showalter said. "Got to wait and see how we get through the next three days and what we have available, but he'll proceed like he's starting Sunday with his work day and everything."

The decision is partly based on Miley's past success against Tampa Bay.

"It's some of it, but it's just looking at all of the options," Showalter said. "It could change between now and then, but that's where we are today. There are a lot of different factors. Once again, I'm not going to publicly put out there every little factor we figured into it."

Miley has registered an 8.41 ERA in eight starts with the Orioles. No one is more disappointed than Miley, who has been eager to contribute in a pennant race.

"It's hard," Showalter said. "I'm not going to profess to know Wade too well. He's not going to stay in that place too long. He's not happy about it. It's not like every time he's pitched ...

"We know it hasn't been what he had hoped. It's hard to say that because there's not, 'I'll get it figured out over the course of the season. It'll work out.' We're not into that type of season here anymore. We're into 16, 17 games, whatever we have left. Trust me, that's still an eternity. Look how much things have changed in five games. We've got 17 of those."

It's impossible to project the rotation beyond the Rays series. The Orioles will play four games against the Red Sox and could go with a variety of combinations.

Showalter said starting Miley on Sunday wasn't necessarily done to line up four specific pitchers for the Red Sox.

"I'm not going to overlook somebody we're playing," he said. "By the time you get to New York and Toronto, you might have a whole different look to it. You can't operate too much like that, but there's times when I've seen people maneuver a lot around just to do one thing. They've got an issue with what is directly ahead of them. We're not going to do that."

Update: So much for a clean first inning.

Gallado walked the first two batters and Evan Longoria hit his 33rd home run to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead.

Update II: The Orioles answered with four runs off Blake Snell in the bottom of the first. Matt Wieters had a two-out, two-run single and J.J. Hardy followed with a two-run double.

Update III: The Rays tied the game in the second inning on singles by Steven Souza Jr., Mikie Mahtook and Logan Forsythe. Gallardo is up to 56 pitches.

Update IV: Souza Jr. broke a 4-4 tie with a two-out double in the thrid that scored Brad Miller, who led off with a double. Gallardo struck out the side, giving him seven. He's thrown 72 pitches.

Update V: Longoria drove in two more runs with a single off Tommy Hunter in the fourth, and Tampa Bay leads 7-4. Gallardo is charged with six runs and seven hit in 3 1/3 innings, with two walks and seven strikeouts. His ERA is 5.77 in 106 innings.

Update VI: The Orioles scored twice in the eighth, both runs charged to former Orioles left-hander Dana Eveland, and they trail 7-6.

Hardy and Michael Bourn had RBI ground outs after Davis' leadoff walk and Wieters' double.

Update VII: The Orioles lose to the Rays 7-6 before 19,233 at Camden Yards.

Alex Colome picked up the save, as the Orioles fell to 80-66. Not a good way to start an 11-game homestand.

Schoop and Manny Machado single with one out, but Mark Trumbo struck out looking and Davis struck out on three pitches.