Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano was forced to depart the All-Star Game in Seattle with a trainer Tuesday night. American League manager Dusty Baker soon after told Fox's Ken Rosenthal that Romano had complained of lower back tightness while finishing his warm-up throws. He exited the game after throwing five pitches and recording one out in the seventh inning. Here's a look:
And here are Baker's comments:
Romano, 30, has this season pitched to a 2.87 ERA with 48 strikeouts and eight unintentional walks in 37 2/3 innings. His 26 saves leads the majors at the break. An All-Star last year for the first time, Romano has a career ERA+ of 160 across parts of five big-league seasons, all with Toronto.
Obviously, any kind of notable injury suffered in the All-Star Game would be highly unfortunate and in this instance a serious blow to the contending Blue Jays. The hope, however, is that Romano's removal was precautionary in nature and not a sign of anything seriously wrong.
The Blue Jays will enter the second half with a record of 50-41 and in third place in the tough AL East. They presently lead the chase for the third and final wild-card spot in the AL by a single game over the Yankees.
