Gallardo on his first day playing catch

Yovani Gallardo didn't let the weather stop him today from picking up a ball for the first time since going on the disabled list.

Gallardo made his scheduled 25 throws from 60 feet on flat ground. He's slated to expand the distance to 90 feet on Monday and to 120 feet most likely on Wednesday.

Manager Buck Showalter has the rehab assignment dates charted, but he won't share them publicly until Gallardo starts throwing off a mound.

Showalter said Gallardo's schedule is "similar" to the one assigned to Kevin Gausman, who began the season on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis.

"Maybe a little longer," Showalter said.

The Orioles are more curious about how Gallardo feels on Sunday, but today's session was encouraging.

"It felt good," he said. "It felt good to pick up the ball. It definitely feels free. It feels like my shoulder is not restricted. A lot of shoulder work the past three weeks, so you can definitely tell the difference.

"The first couple times it's going to be every other day and then slowly keep going further back. And just see how it feels tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'm not going to throw, but just the first time out there, it's obviously the first time in three weeks, but like I said, it felt good. It felt real good to be back out there."

Gallardo lasted only two innings on April 22 in Kansas City, allowing four runs and five hits, before heading to the disabled list with his ERA at 7.00.

Gallardo said he felt "just a little bit of everything."

"I think it was just tight," he said. "It just felt like it wouldn't get loose, it didn't feel right. I just felt something different that I haven't felt in my career.

"One of the things I noticed was when I had my arm up it was kind of hard to keep it up in the higher position to drive the ball to home plate. I think that's one of the reasons the command wasn't there. It wasn't there that game. But I think putting in all the hard work the past three weeks, I'm excited. Today was the first time playing catch and it felt good."

Gallardo signed late, leading to speculation that a shorter spring training contributed to his shoulder issue.

"Maybe. It might have. But you never know," he said.

"It's just one of those things. I've done the same things every offseason to prepare for spring training and I did the same thing this year, but being a week late to spring training, it's a little bit different. That's for sure. It came up early in the year and hopefully I only have to deal with it once and not worry about it anymore."

It's still raining at Camden Yards, but the Orioles expect it to clear around 6 p.m.

For the Tigers
Ian Kinsler 2B
J.D. Martinez RF
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Victor Martinez DH
Nick Castellanos 3B
Justin Upton CF
Steven Moya LF
James McCann C
Jose Iglesias SS

Anibal Sanchez RHP