CHICAGO — Orioles outfielder Steve Pearce left Sunday's game against the Chicago White Sox in the fifth inning with a flexor mass injury in his right elbow, and received a cortisone shot during the game, manager Buck Showalter said.

“He's already gotten it, and we'll see how the next 24-48 hours manage about what we want to do — wait on it or DL somebody,” Showalter said. “It's the flexor mass. Something he's had some issues with, but it just flared up on him on a couple plays. I was really wanting to get him out there two days in a row. He's swung the bat well in all the games he's played in. Hopefully, it's something that'll manage itself.”

Pearce left the game an inning after making an errant throw home on a sacrifice fly by White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier.

Pearce, acquired at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league catcher Jonah Heim, was making his third start since returning to the Orioles and had collected two hits Sunday before leaving.

In Tampa Bay, Pearce played the infield exclusively. When he came to the Orioles, Showalter alluded to physical problems the Orioles were trying to get a grip on with Pearce. Pearce said the arm was one of them.

“It's been lingering all year, but we've been managing it and on top of it,” Pearce said. “The whole goal was to get my arm ready to start playing the outfield, and it just kind of wasn't there yet.”

Recently, injuries described as flexor mass strains have come to include those that require surgery, some as serious as Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. Pearce, however, is optimistic he won't need more than a few days to get back to game action.

“Very optimistic,” Pearce said. “To get it taken care of right now, moving forward, getting the shot was the best idea to do. So we're going that route, and I'm very optimistic I'll be back in a couple days.”

Machado's inspired day: Third baseman Manny Machado accomplished a feat that's happened just 20 other times in Orioles history Sunday when he hit three home runs in the win over Chicago.

Showalter believes he had a bit of extra motivation to help him do it, with the announcement that Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, a fellow Miami native and Machado's longtime mentor, was retiring this week.

“I know Manny had a lot of emotions, and he took them out on the field with him,” Showalter said.

“To see him go up there and talk and leave it there, it's tough,” Machado said after the game. “It's a tough situation. I know as a personal friend, he sleeps, bleeds, eats baseball. So for him to make that decision, I know it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy for his family. But I am always going to be there for him.”

Rest for the weary: Outfielder-designated hitter Mark Trumbo was out of the Orioles lineup for the first time all season Sunday, and Showalter said this 10-game road trip that will take the team to Oakland and San Francisco will be an opportunity to give all his veterans a day off.

Around the horn:Alexander Wells, a 19-year-old left-hander who has impressed with a 2.27 ERA at Short-A Aberdeen this year, left his start Sunday in Connecticut in the first inning after being hit on the leg by a line drive. … Machado was the second player in major league history to homer in each of the first three innings of a game; the first was Carl Reynolds of the White Sox in 1930. He's also the ninth player in major league history to homer in three consecutive innings.

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