TORONTO — Orioles right-hander Yovani Gallardo, on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis, will make at least one more minor league rehabilitation start before returning to the major league rotation.

Instead of being activated from the DL for Sunday's series finale in Toronto, Gallardo will make his second start for Triple-A Norfolk, and his third rehab start overall, on Monday in Charlotte. If all goes well, Gallardo would be on track to return June 18, a home game against the Blue Jays.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the decision to give Gallardo another rehab start was rooted in giving the veteran pitcher the chance to make a pair of strong back-to-back starts at Triple-A before returning to the majors.

Gallardo hasn't pitched in a major league game since April 22, when he left after two rocky innings in Kansas City. Gallardo's recovery has been slow, but he and the Orioles said they believe they will see better results because of it, especially since Gallardo has embraced shoulder-strengthening exercises they think should give his pitches added life.

“We just felt like it would be good to get him one more,” Showalter said. “He's close. [Pitching coach Dave Wallace] and him sat down the past couple days and talked about it. We'll see how the work day goes tomorrow, but we think [it's] the most prudent thing to do with his injury and making sure he has some of that doubt out of his mind, too.”

Gallardo allowed three runs on four hits over five innings for Norfolk on Tuesday, striking out five batters, walking two and throwing 85 pitches. The Orioles are looking for another start of about five innings and 85 to 90 pitches Monday.

“He was pitching in a noon game” in his last start, Showalter said. “It was hot and sticky, humid, weren't many people in the stands. In fact, I was really pleased with how the intensity level was for him there and the stuff. Charlotte is a hitter-friendly ballpark.”

Gallardo was 1-1 with a 7.00 ERA in four starts before going on the DL.

In his last rehab start, Gallardo's fastball sat at 89 to 90 mph and reached 91, higher than during his four regular-season starts in April, when his fastball averaged about 88 mph.

Davis back in lineup: First baseman Chris Davis, who had played in all 57 games this season before sitting out Wednesday's series finale against the Kansas City Royals, was back in the starting lineup Thursday in Toronto.

Showalter said it was a normal day off for Davis, who had had a rough three-week stretch at the plate. Davis said it was nice to get a day off.

“There are different times in a season when you just need a blow, and it was a perfect situation to take that chance, get a day off and kind of get my feet back underneath me and get after them again today,” Davis said.

Before Thursday, four Orioles had played in every game this season: Davis, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Mark Trumbo.

Davis hit just .137 (10-for-73) over the 20 games before his day off, with three home runs, five RBIs and 34 strikeouts. He had a home run and three RBIs on Thursday.

He has played through a left thumb injury for 61/2 weeks, and often has the thumb wrapped heavily after games, but said he has learned to adjust to the injury.

“It's kind of a feel thing,” Davis said. “There's really no rhyme or reason. You just kind of have to listen to your body and do what you can do. … It's a part of the game. You're going to have nicks and bruises. It's part of playing every day. It's a part of demanding as much out of your body as you possibly can.

“There are things every year that you deal with. But it's a part of the game, and I've been doing this long enough to know kind of how to get through that and keep going.”

Around the horn: Shortstop J.J. Hardy (fractured bone in left foot) continued his rehab at extended spring training in Sarasota, Fla., on Thursday, taking batting practice, hitting in the cages and fielding grounders. … Catcher Caleb Joseph (groin) will begin to take batting practice and start throwing Tuesday. He has a follow-up appointment Wednesday and could go on a rehab assignment after that. But Joseph can't resume catching until June 28. … With Wednesday's outing, right-hander Chris Tillman became the fifth pitcher in club history to go 7-0 or better with at least 60 strikeouts over 10 starts in a single season. The others were Pat Dobson (1971), Jim Palmer (1972, 1973), Mike Mussina (1997) and Erik Bedard (2007).

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