Toronto @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 24, 2010 ) Toronto 6, LA Angels 0
When the Toronto Blue Jays traded Roy Halladay over the winter, most assumed that it would be a while until someone stepped into his vacated role as team ace. Turns out, his replacement could have arrived sooner than later.
Twenty-five-year-old Ricky Romero is making an awfully convincing case to be that guy.
Romero will take the hill for the Blue Jays on Tuesday as they face the Los Angeles Angels in the second of a three-game set in Anaheim.
Romero, the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft, held his own as a rookie last season in winning 13 games with a 4.30 ERA. The left-hander has followed it up with a hot start to 2010 as the leader of the Jays’ staff.
For a team that ranks among the American League’s best in pitching, Romero has proven to be the best.
He hasn’t lost in six outings and has allowed just five runs over his last three starts. He leads the club in ERA at 2.71 and in strikeouts with 64 to go with his 4-1 record.
Toronto’s .250 batting-average against is fourth-best in the AL and their team ERA of 4.35 ranks eighth. The team's 15 saves currently lead the AL, thanks to the unheralded Kevin Gregg, who assumed the duties from Jason Frasor early on and has converted 12 of 14 save opportunities.
Romero will be eager for a second crack at the Angels after suffering a tough loss on April 18. He allowed just one run on five hits over eight ,but didn’t get any run support in a 3-1 setback.
Brett Cecil didn’t have that problem in Monday’s opener as the Blue Jays used a four-run seventh inning to back their starter, who surrendered just two hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 6-0 victory.
Torii Hunter, Hideki Matsui and Kevin Frandsen recorded the Angels’ lone hits in the contest.
Los Angeles, which has lost three of four, will turn to Ervin Santana in an attempt to get back in the win column.
Santana will be eying his third consecutive win as he has turned his season around. The young right-hander took a pair of losses to open the campaign, but has since found his groove in the middle of May.
Santana is 3-3 and owns a 3.75 ERA with one of the wins coming over Toronto in a duel over Romero.