The Philadelphia Phillies are off to a decent start to the season with a 13-9 record. They are in second place in the National League East ahead of their series with the New York Mets, who lead the division by two games.
Many Phillies players, such as Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, have started the season well as expected. Players who have exceeded expectations are Jesús Luzardo and Johan Rojas. One of the players who has been inconsistent is reliever Jordan Romano.
Romano got off to a bad start, allowing seven earned runs in three of his first five outings. He performed well during two consecutive appearances versus the Colorado Rockies, allowing no earned runs. After two bad games, the 32-year-old looked like he was turning a corner with three straight solid appearances in which he surrendered no earned runs, no walks, and only one hit.
However, the Miami Marlins found success against the reliever during Saturday's game.
Jordan Romano finishes with his worst outing of the season to date versus the Marlins
The Phillies nearly lost a game in which they had a comfortable 11-4 lead entering the top of the ninth inning. The Marlins almost tied the game with six hits, including two home runs, off Romano. They scored six runs in 2/3 of an inning before manager Rob Thomson removed the right-hander from the game in favor of José Alvarado. The left-hander secured the final out for them, earning his fifth save of the year in the 11-10 win.
It has been difficult for the Phillies fan base to trust the former Toronto Blue Jays reliever. It looked like Romano was breaking away from his bad play during his outings versus the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals on Philadelphia's previous road trip. He also did well at home versus the San Francisco Giants. However, his latest appearance in the game versus the Marlins proves Philly fans should be prepared for a stressful finish.
After his rough outings on April 4 and 6 versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, Romano had a whopping 15.75 ERA in four innings. He lowered his ERA to 9.00 over his next three games entering the April 19 contest against Miami. Now, heading into the series opener versus the Mets on Monday, his ERA is back up to 15.26.
During his previous struggles earlier in April, Romano's decreased velocity on some of his pitches was concerning. According to his postgame comments, the reliever felt confident before the outing versus the Marlins.
"[I] felt very confident in all my pitches. [The Marlins hitters] were seeing it very well today," Romano told gathered media after the game, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. "When I'm up in the count, I need to make better pitches, 1-2, 0-2, but I still felt great out there, just got crushed."
"My mindset was great, the [velocity] was good, so I don't think it was a situational thing, it was just one of those days for me," Romano said when asked if not entering a high-leverage situation played a part in his bad outing.
Only Matt Strahm and Alvarado seem to be doing well in the late innings for the Phillies, nearly a month into the season. Romano has not been as reliable for Thomson to use late in games. Phillies fans' confidence in the reliever before the Marlins series continues to waver as his rollercoaster start to the season continues.