ANAHEIM, Calif. — Orioles right-hander Yovani Gallardo's first bullpen session since he left his start April 22 with shoulder soreness went “really well,” he said, clearing another hurdle in a recovery that has the team encouraged and the pitcher hopeful.

“I threw 25 pitches, mixed in a couple sliders, a couple changeups,” Gallardo said. “Not very many, but the most important thing is just getting back out there on the mound. It was a good feeling and it felt good, so it was pretty exciting.

“I think the plan right now is I'll throw another bullpen Wednesday, that second day there in Houston. Hopefully, throw a little bit more pitches. Hopefully, it's a regular bullpen, maybe put a little more intensity behind it than what it was today. Hopefully, it feels the way that it felt today.”

Before the game, manager Buck Showalter said it had gone so well that another bullpen session might not be required before the simulated game they anticipate this weekend in Cleveland.

“He looked good,” Showalter said. “The ball's coming out good. I know we want him as soon a possible. I think he's going to pitch well for us for the rest of the year and next year.”

Having Gallardo pitching off a mound should give the Orioles confidence that his return is near.

“Once he gets there, things kind of get moving,” Showalter said.

Gallardo said the bullpen session is key to his trusting his body again. “I was pretty excited how things went today,” he said.

Good news on McFarland: Orioles left-hander T.J. McFarland had an MRI on his injured left knee in Baltimore on Sunday, and Showalter said the result “looks pretty good.

“Nothing structurally wrong,” Showalter said. “They injected it [with cortisone]. He's going to go back to Norfolk, let it rest for a day or two, then take side work. Got pretty good news on him [Sunday]. Nothing structurally there, kind of a bruise underneath the patella there. That was good news.”

McFarland, who was working as a starter in Triple-A Norfolk, suffered the injury Friday night in the first inning of his start in Syracuse. He had pitched well before that, allowing one earned run over 13 innings in his first two starts and getting into a normal routine after sporadic work in the Orioles' bullpen over the first month of the season.

Machado steady through slump: Shortstop Manny Machado's hot start has cooled considerably over the past week, but second baseman Jonathan Schoop said he's handling it well.

“Manny's good,” Schoop said. “Manny's good. Manny doesn't let one game move him. Tomorrow, off-day, and then the next day, we come in, same player. We don't let one at-bat ruin the whole day, and we don't let one day ruin the whole season. Every day is a different day.”

Machado struck out three times in an 0-for-4 game Sunday, extending his cold streak during which he has four hits in his past 36 at-bats. Showalter said Machado is doing his best to keep those struggles behind him.

“A lot of it comes from the teammates and the coaches,” Showalter said. “We're all going to be worse than we really are some days and we're going to be better than we really are some days. But you learn from it. The game's very humbling, but he knows that. You go through some of the physical things that Manny has gone through, I think he never takes anything for granted.”

Around the horn:Left-hander Brian Matusz did not appear in the three-game series in Anaheim, with the Angels featuring just two left-handed hitters in their lineup each day. Matusz, who has a 12.00 ERA, has pitched just once since May 11, and not since Tuesday. … Schoop's home run went 106 mph off the bat and traveled 433 feet, according to MLB Statcast data. … Left fielder Joey Rickard recorded his second stolen base of the season after walking in the first inning. Rickard was initially called out, but the call was reversed after the Orioles challenged.

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