TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero was removed from Saturday’s game against the Yankees after three innings because of soreness in his left knee.
Manager John Farrell and assistant trainer Hap Hudson came to the mound after Romero missed high on a 2-2 pitch to Andruw Jones in the third and hopped around in pain. After a few practice pitches, Romero stayed in the game to strike out Jones. He then got Eduardo Nunez on a sharp liner to second to leave the bases loaded.
Romero allowed two runs and three hits and left trailing 2-1.
A first time All-Star in 2011, Romero struggled mightily this year, losing 13 consecutive decisions between June 22 and Sept. 24. This was scheduled to be the final start of the year for the left-hander, who came in 9-14 with a 5.76 ERA, the highest among qualified AL starters.
