BY SHI DAVIDI
sportsnet.ca
TORONTO - The statistics over the past four weeks for Ricky Romero are remarkable, but perhaps more important than the results has been the process for the Toronto Blue Jays left-hander.
Romero had been dominant in his previous five starts - allowing just four earned runs on 14 hits and 11 walks over a combined 40.1 innings - before taking a no-decision with six frames of survival pitching in Wednesday night's 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
While his line wasn't gleaming - three runs on eight hits and four walks - the ability to keep things from slipping away without his best stuff is a sign of significant progress. And that's rooted in much of what he established during his recent roll.
"He's a fiercely competitive pitcher, but I think he's found an effort and competitive level within himself that makes him most efficient and really most effective over the long run," manager John Farrell said before the contest. "You look at the last 40 innings and those numbers are eye-popping, but when you see the demeanour, the body language, he's done a much better job of arriving at that effort level, the competitive spirit that works for him.
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"In this stretch we're referring to, there have been some innings where he's had to pitch out of some jams and he's been very much under control and he's executed to a high degree."
Romero agreed with Farrell's assessment, attributing it to his maturation from his rookie season in 2009 to now. Sometimes, he's learned, you need to count on your head, as much of your arm.
"I don't let little stuff bother me," he said. "My job is to go out there and make quality pitches and try to get as many innings as possible. That's what I did today. I didn't have my best stuff, but I grinded through six innings and when you can call this a bad day, I'll take it."
While Romero didn't pick up the win, Brett Lawrie made sure the Blue Jays (66-63) didn't finish the night empty-handed, ripping his fourth homer of the season to open the seventh to provide the winning margin before a crowd of 18,292.
Jesse Litsch (5-3) escaped a man on third, one-out jam unscathed in the top half, while Casey Janssen followed with a crisp eighth and Frank Francisco nailed things down in the ninth for his 11th save.
"It's always fun when you get in games when it's close and you can contribute," said Lawrie. "That was a fun game, the pitchers kept us in it, and we battled all game."
Reliever Louis Coleman (1-3) gave up the Lawrie homer as the Royals (53-77) lost for the fourth time in six outings.
There was some intrigue in the fourth when K.C. starter Luke Hochevar hit Yunel Escobar on the left arm to open the inning, prompting the Blue Jays shortstop to send a few angry words to the mound. Home plate umpire Laz Diaz moved to calm the situation and nothing came of it, but Hochevar proceeded to brush back Jose Bautista on the next pitch, as well.
Bad idea, as two pitches later, Bautista turned on a 1-1 slider and sent it off a window in the third deck for his 37th of the year to knot things up 2-2, staring at the mound afterwards.
"I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and I finally got one and took advantage," said Bautista. "It felt good, I didn't look at him for any particular reason."
Lawrie added a go-ahead run-scoring triple later in the frame but the lead was short-lived as Alex Gordon led off the fifth with his career-high 17th homer of the season.
Romero also gave up an RBI double to Billy Butler in the first and a run-scoring single to the first baseman in the third. He had baserunners on in each of his six frames, but never gave up a big blow that would have opened things up.
"When he gave up multiple hits, he didn't come out of his game-plan, he stayed with it," said Farrell. "This might have been the most number of hits he's given up in the last six or seven starts, but it didn't cause him to go away from an overall game-plan."
Hochevar was much more efficient, holding the Blue Jays to a walk through the first three frames before the rough fourth. He allowed just four hits and a walk in six innings of work.
The right-hander also managed to get under Escobar's skin again in the fifth with a quick-pitch that caught the Cuban off-guard and backed him off the plate.
"I was just coming in with a fastball and he was diving out over the plate," Hochevar said of the hit-by pitch in the fourth. "That's what happens when you dive hard. I didn't hit him on purpose. Then he stares at me and mouths something at me. I didn't hear what he said but it kind of pissed me off enough to take me to another level. …
"There's not a rule that says you can't pitch inside. … I'm not out there trying to hit guys or hurt anyone. I'm going to pitch inside. If you want to stare me down then you can stare me down, that's fine. But I'm still going to pitch inside."
Hochevar also quick-pitched Bautista during a June 9 game at Kansas City, catching the star slugger looking in the first inning. After that game, Bautista called it "the strangest delivery I've ever seen as a baseball player."
