Orioles left-hander John Means exited Wednesday’s game after four innings and 51 pitches due to left forearm tightness, the club announced, ending his outing just as he had gotten into a groove against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Means cruised through the fourth inning, needing just 12 pitches to retire the side in order. But midway through the home half of that inning, right-hander Joey Krehbiel popped up in the bullpen.

And when the fifth inning opened, there Krehbiel was, replacing Means on the mound after Baltimore’s most reliable starter allowed two runs in his second start of the season. The 28-year-old ace was expected to push beyond what he produced Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays when he needed 84 pitches to get through four frames.

Manager Brandon Hyde has been wary of pushing his starting pitchers too long, considering the shortened spring training build-up time.

There wasn’t an obvious indication of an injury or lack of stamina, and Means retired his final seven batters. According to Statcast, Means’ average fastball was 92.8 mph against the Rays last week and dropped to 91.6 Wednesday.

“It depends on how efficient he is, traffic, stressful innings, but I’m hoping to get him up to five or six innings and in the 85-pitch range or maybe a little bit higher,” Hyde said pregame. “Kinda see how the game goes.”

Means worked quickly through the first inning of action but ran into trouble in the second with a one-out walk to second baseman Keston Hiura, leaving a fastball well out of the zone on a full count. With two outs, Means left a slider hanging over the plate, and first baseman Rowdy Tellez blasted it to the deepest part of center field to drive in the first run of the game.

And then third baseman Mike Brosseau extended his career tally against Means to 6-for-12 with seven RBIs when his single drove home Tellez. But Means settled in from there, needing nine pitches to retire the side in the third and 12 in the fourth.

Any absence for Means would leave Baltimore’s rotation in disarray. When Means missed nearly two months last season with a left shoulder strain, the remaining members of the rotation posted a 7.63 ERA.

This article will be updated.

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