Rays' Romo to start 2nd straight game Sunday
Sergio Romo will make his second start in as many days Sunday following an auspicious performance Saturday in his first career start, Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash announced.
Romo, a one-time All-Star who had logged 588 career relief appearances before making his first-ever start Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, tossed a perfect first inning in Anaheim, striking out Zack Cozart, Mike Trout, and Justin Upton in succession before handing the ball off to Ryan Yarbrough. Cash's experiment worked swimmingly, as Yarbrough proceeded to allow just one run over 6 1/3 impressive innings, propelling the Rays to a 5-3 victory and their sixth straight road win.
"It did go really, really well,'' Cash told MLB.com's Jay Paris. "(Romo) opened the game with a slider just like he was pitching the eighth or ninth inning. So, we're going back to Sergio because it worked so well.''
Romo, who was sent home early to rest up following his masterful first inning, is expected to throw the first two innings of Sunday's series finale.
"Sergio is pumped,'' Cash added.
When he takes the mound Sunday, the 35-year-old right-hander will become the first pitcher to start consecutive games since 2012, when Zack Greinke, then with the Milwaukee Brewers, started three straight games (on account of an early ejection and the coincidentally timed All-Star break).
"It's a little odd,'' Trout said of Tampa Bay's strategy. "But that's what they are doing."