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Romero takes no-hitter into seventh inning


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By WIRE SERVICES

Story Updated: Jun 29, 2009 at 12:51 PM PDT

During spring training, Ricky Romero didn’t even have a roster spot secured with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Now the rookie left-hander out of East L.A. is as firmly entrenched in the rotation as any of the club’s other starting pitchers.

Romero, a prep star at Roosevelt High School, turned in the latest in what has been one standout performance after another Saturday by carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 6-1 victory over last year’s World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.

He lost the potential gem when Phillies second baseman Chase Utley led off the seventh with a single.

He finished with a two-hitter over seven shutout innings in which he struck out seven. Romero improved to 5-3.

Asked afterwards if the no-hitter was on his mind, Romero admitted it was.

“If you guys are wondering if I was thinking about it, of course,” he told MLB.com. “As a pitcher, you know you have a no-hitter. Whoever says they don’t, it’s a lie. You know you have it. It was pretty cool to be a part of it.”

“Outstanding job,” Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. “He just really dominated out there tonight.”

As the innings moved on, Romero’s pitch count shot up. Through six innings, he was up to 88 pitches, putting Gaston in a bit of a dilemma.

“You’d love to see that kid pitch a no-hitter,” Gaston said. “But you certainly would’ve had to push the pitch count up quite a bit on him. That’s one of those things where managers just sit there and go, ‘Man, what am I going to do with this?’ He pitched a great game for us.”

Whether this would have been his first no-hitter, Romero can’t say for sure, though he thinks he may have pitched one in high school.

For now, he’ll have to wait, at least until his next start.

Saturday’s performance shows just how far Romero has come since spring training when the sixth overall pick in the 2005 first-year player draft was battling for a roster spot.

Early command issues had him close to being returned to the minor league camp. Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg convinced the club to keep Romero around, and the two began to work on his mechanics.

He got things straightened out and was 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA after his first three starts. He even overcome a stay on the disabled list in April and May with a strained right oblique.

He had a couple of rough starts upon his return, but since has gone 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA over his last five starts.