Jordan Romano gets first save with Rockies

Romano was summoned in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead to close out the game against the Dodgers. He worked around a hit and a walk, striking out the final batter to convert his fifth save of the season, second with the Rockies. The 33-year-old right-hander has immediately stepped into the closer role in Colorado. Still, he holds a 7.36 ERA across 11 innings this season.

Romano will get a chance to make his debut with the Rockies after signing with the club a month ago on a minor-league pact. The 33-year-old was once one of the better closers in baseball, but he’s been ineffective to put it mildly over the last few seasons. Even if he somehow earned some save chances, fantasy managers should look elsewhere.

It’s a zero-risk gamble for the Rockies after Romano was cut loose by the Angels last week. The 33-year-old veteran opened they year as Los Angeles’ closer but wound up being released just a couple weeks later after struggling to an catastrophic 10.13 ERA over eight innings. It would be a surprise to see him closing games for Colorado later this season, but stranger things have happened before.

Romano lost his grip on the closer’s role for Los Angeles a couple weeks ago and the club decided to move on entirely after he struggled to a bloated 10.13 ERA across eight innings over 11 appearances. The 33-year-old’s previous high-leverage experience ensures that there will be an organization out there willing to bring him in on as a low-risk dice roll, but his days as a legitimate closing option are probably finished.

Ouch. Romano had been functioning as the Angels’ closer this season, though he gave up four runs in the eighth inning in mop up duty on Saturday night and that appears to have been the final nail in his coffin. Rather than simply pulling him from the closer’s role, they booted him from the roster entirely. That leaves the ninth inning wide open now with Sam Bachman perhaps the favorite for save chances in the interim until Kirby Yates or Ben Joyce return from the injured list.

Ouch. Brought in with the Angels down 8-0. Romano gave up a single, a double, a walk, another single and a HBP before being pulled. Second baseman Adam Frazier replaced him before his pitch count could get too high and, as you might imagine, allowed both inherited runners to score. Just one of the three hits against Romano came in a hard-hit ball. It wasn’t the nightmare performance that the line suggests, but that doesn’t change the fact that his ERA now stands at 10.13. He’s still probably the favorite for saves in the Angels pen for now, but it wouldn’t take much at all to change that.

Romano gave up two well-struck singles, but he also struck out two before getting Ernie Clement to ground out to end the game. Romano hasn’t had a save chance since blowing two games against the Yankees last week, but he has bounced back with two scoreless innings, striking out five of the eight batters he’s faced.

The Angels will have to hope it’s just the Yankees that Romano melts down against. He allowed a double tonight, but he got whiffs on six of the eight swings against him. He should be available to close if there’s a save chance Saturday.

The line was ugly, but this was not all Romano’s fault. With no one on and one out, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a lazy pop-up between short and third. For some reason, neither Zach Neto nor Oswald Peraza made a play on it and it dropped between them. Ruled a hit, the floodgates opened up after that and the Yankees wound up walking this one off. That’s a frustrating result for Romano who could not stop the bleeding after his defense failed him and his second blown save in this series alone. Keep an eye on who gets the next save opportunity for the Angels.

This was probably due. Romano hadn’t allowed a hit in five innings this season but also hadn’t pitched in a week coming into tonight. He gave up a leadoff single to Jazz Chisholm Jr., a homer to Trent Grisham, a double to José Caballero and a walk to Austin Wells, during which Caballero stole third base. With a full count on Ryan McMahon, Romano uncorked a game-ending wild pitch, which also still counted as ball four to McMahon. Romano will probably remain the Angels’ primary closer for now, but he won’t be able to afford another outing like this in the near future.