Velasquez was removed from his start Thursday against the Rays due to an apparent injury, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
Velasquez began losing velocity on his fastball toward the end of the third inning and was replaced by Jose Hernandez before the bottom of the fourth. Replays showed him massaging his right elbow at one point, per Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. Velasquez allowed one earned run on two hits and one walk across his three frames.