Showalter on Kim, Gallardo and Machado

CLEVELAND - Hyun Soo Kim walked into the visiting clubhouse at Progressive Field today and again found his name in the lineup once bench coach John Russell posted it in the hallway.

That's four starts in a row for Kim, who begins tonight batting .410/.489/.487 in 15 games. He was hitless last night, but he took a pitch off his foot and twice made solid contact on balls that were turned into outs, including a drive to deep left-center field.

Manager Buck Showalter had an amusing exchange with interpreter Danny Lee.

"I was talking to Danny yesterday," Showalter said. "I said, 'How's he doing?' I always ask what's going on. He said, 'Oh, he's playing with me, acting like he's tired and doesn't know if he can play again.' I kid him.

"I just think he brings some things we kind of need, some selectivity and kind of slow things down here and there. First of all, the guy's going to have to get below .400 before you take him out. I'm not stupid. I don't care how many at-bats or what kind of hits they are. At some point you go, 'OK, let's see.'

"Like I told you, nobody really knows who he is or how good he can be. I'm not going to put things ... I know one thing, when he gets hit on the foot, it hurts. Those are some little feet, too. You've got to square those things up to hit them."

Showalter is still learning about Kim.

"Getting there," he said. "If you said I've got to fill out a report on him, yeah, I could rip that off, but I'm really careful about that. None of us are that smart. There's a process with him you've got to go through.

"You look at a lot of the Korean players and kind of where they started and what they ended up being if you stayed patient. We're being open-minded about it."

Meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo will begin his injury rehab assignment Thursday at Single-A Frederick.

Gallardo threw a simulated game this morning that convinced the Orioles that he's ready to face hitters.

"It went well," Showalter said. "He had three innings, 45 pitches. He got a little tired at the end, which you can expect. The arm swing was good. You can tell by the smile on his face that he felt good about it."

Gallardo pitched to infielder Paul Janish and coaches Wayne Kirby and Einar Diaz.

"Kirby had to ice down his knuckles on a couple of cutters," Showalter said. "I was telling (Gallardo) that Bud Norris had a sim game and Kirby hit him with a line drive. Yovani said, 'I don't need the screen.' He won't be hitting any line drives up the middle.' He stayed inside on him.

"If he feels well tomorrow and his work day goes OK, then he'll pitch for Frederick on (June 2), the 5 o'clock doubleheader that day. We'll see if he and Jonah Heim can get some Carolina League hitters out. It's encouraging. We're trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves. That's about as far as I'm going to go, but we've got a plan if everything goes well. We'll see."

During last night's game, Manny Machado doubled to center field and was thrown out trying for the triple. He dived past the bag and couldn't scramble back before the tag.

Machado made the first out at third base, one of the big sins in baseball. He's made the final out at third multiple times on failed stolen base attempts, which also is frowned upon.

"There's been a lot of times where he's done something that may not be conventional, but it works out real well. I don't want to take that away from him," Showalter said.

"It's one of those things where you talk to him ... It's like a 30-foot jump shot. You go to take it and everybody goes, 'Oh no,' and then they make it and they go, 'Wow.' He knows. It's just a reminder every once in a while that he's 23 years old. There are some things that all young players have to experience so they don't make those mistakes again.

"Is it a mistake if he's safe? Sometimes you get so caught up in conventionality that we take away some guys' freedom and their imagination. I think the big issue you have is if some guys are making the same mistake over and over again."