Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero wallops the New York Yankees
Going into the game with a win from the last match, the Blue Jays were rooting for another victory over the New York Yankees, who had lost the last two meetings in recent days. With Alex Rodriguez trailing with his performance and still looking for his 600th homer, the Toronto-based ball club was looking forward to mum the giant again and capitalize on the opportunity to bring down the Bronx-based club for the second time running.
However, that task was in no way easy for the team that has been sitting on the 4th position on the eastern American League table. The powerhouse roster of the Yankees is something to be cautious and uncomfortable about. With hitters like, Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Brett Gardner, the Blue Birds had a hard task to quell the threat and minimize the risk. For what was considered a hard task, came a pitcher to take that responsibility. Richard Romero walked in to pitch for a full 9 innings and ended the game on a high note in 2 hours and 21 minutes. This was the 3rd time the pitcher ever beamed the strike zone in full attendance in his career.
The pitcher started off the game with a bad note as Teixeira hit him off for a homer on the left in the bottom first innings, earning the Yankees a 2-run advantage. Jeter completed his run from the first base as the homer went through. However, after that, the Yanks never looked to dominate the match again.
The Jays responded in the top second inning when John Buck singled to the right, leaving Adam Lind to complete the scoring for the team’s first run and reducing the score advantage to 1.
As the game went into the Yankees’ innings, the batting squad could not do anything against a focused Romero. The versatile pitcher subdued the best striking team in the league with an energetic fielding team that was on top of their game. Going into the top fourth inning, the Jays broke their deficit with Buck hitting for a double on the left. This gave Aaron Hill the necessary time to break the deficit and register a run with the score board as Jeter fumbled and missed the chance to oust the runner on the plate. The scoring concluded in the innings when Travis Snider homered to the right and followed Buck into the dugout with a run each, assigned to their name and collectively added to the team’s score to 4-2.
The Blue Birds continued to pounce on the defending champions, as the charismatic pitcher, Romero continued to strain the Yankees off their confidence in batting, while the batting Jay team continued to search for an opportunity in their innings. That defining moment came in the top 8th innings as Vernon Wells homered off Dustin Moseley to the left. The tortuous night continued as Hill hit the pitcher off for another homer towards the left, leaving the Bronx based champions in confusion with a 6-2 score line.
The top 9th inning marked the addition to the Blue Jays lead as Jose Bautista homered off reliever Sergio Mitre to the left, giving Edwin Encarnacion the freedom to move towards the last base with no problem. At the time, the Yankees looked tired and the general mood around the stadium predicted a lack of fight back spirit from the New Yorkers.
The last bottom innings ended the same way the other ones did, with Teixeira being grounded out to shortstop, leaving the score line on; 8 Jays – 2 Yankees. Romero ended his curve ball showcase display with 4 strike outs, 2 hits allowed with one being a home run, one walk and 15 player retirements. The performance was an improvement from the last game he faced against the Yankees where he pitched for only 2 and half innings.
To summarize the game, it can be said that the Yankees are losing on their consistency and momentum as the Tampa Bay Rays have overtaken them in the lead for the American League’s, Eastern Division Title. With Rodriguez going into the game with just 9 homers to his name, the once dependable Hitter seems to be struggling in the recent days. One wonders whether the team will fare well in the next game when the batting squad seems to be going on without the mentality to convert well on pitches.
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