Jays' Romero gets hammered in sixth consecutive loss
It just gets worse for Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero.
He lost his sixth start in a row Wednesday when he allowed eight runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Oakland A's, the shortest start of his career. He allowed four hits and six walks, one intentional.
His ERA is 10.48 over those six losing starts. Overall, he is 8-7 with a 5.75 ERA in 21 starts.
Romero has walked at least four batters in seven starts this season. He has allowed eight runs three times.
"Obviously for Ricky, a tough outing for him," manager John Farrell said after the A's hammered the Blue Jays 16-0. "I thought his stuff was improved over his last outing, and yet overall command, number of walks, when he had to make a pitch, (the results weren't there).
"We've got to work to get him right. There's no question about it, we've talked a lot about what his frame of mind is, and yet we've got to work on that to get him untracked.
"It goes back to once again working to trust his abilities, trust his stuff because there's plenty of stuff there. I thought his fastball had better power to it tonight than in New York, yet the bottom-line result is what it is. We've got to continue to work with him."
Romero said, "You continue to work hard. I'll be here tomorrow to get ready for my next start, that's all you can do. Tonight was just pathetic on my side.
"As tough as it is sometimes, you just have to continue to work hard and not let anything bother you. My attitude has been great. As tough as it's been, I continue to keep my head up."
He said he works on "not thinking too much and not worrying about what's happened in the past and my numbers. I've never been a numbers guy. I've always been known as a guy who goes out and battles."
He has not been winning many battles lately.
