A dream came true for Romano, the sixth Red to debut this season, and although it would be a stretch to call his start a nightmare, it was far from what he would have scripted.
Romano allowed three earned runs on three hits with four walks in three innings. He took the loss as the Reds fell 4-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers (7-6) in the series finale. The Reds (8-5) still lead the National League Central by a game, but they suffered their first series loss after winning their first three series for the first time since 1990.
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Romano, 23, made it to the big leagues six years after the Reds drafted him in the 23rd round out of Southington High School in Connecticut. He struck out the first batter he faced, Nick Franklin.
“It was nice to get that first strikeout and throw that first pitch,” Romano said. “Just to be out on the mound for the first time, it was very overwhelming and just a dream come true. Obviously, the ultimate result was not what I wanted, but my first one is out of the way now. Hopefully, I can learn from my mistakes and make those adjustments for the next start.”
The first inning ensured Romano wouldn’t last long in his first start. He threw 35 pitches. He walked the second and third batters he faced and then escaped unscathed with two fly outs. The Brewers fouled off 12 pitches in the inning.
“It was just like, ‘Let’s get this guy, let’s get this guy,’” Romano said. “You just have to keep pounding the zone. I was able to get make a good pitch to get out of it. The pitch count was really high. That stuff is going to happen. You have to be able to find that groove. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to give the amount of innings I wanted to today.”
Romano stranded two runners in each of the first two innings without allowing a run. His luck ran out in the third.
Ryan Braun hit a two-run home run. Then Washington Court House native and Kent State baseball alum Travis Shaw, the son of former Reds reliever Jeff Shaw, hit a solo home run five rows from the top of the stands in right. Shaw’s 31st home run of his career came on his 27th birthday.
Romano made two starts with Triple-A Louisville this month and was 0-0 with a 1.38 ERA. He pitched six innings in the first start and seven innings in the second. He didn’t help the Reds bullpen with a short start Sunday, especially considering Brandon Finnegan, the starter Saturday, lasted one inning.
“It didn’t resemble the Sal we know,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “He’s going to be much better than that. He’s got good downward angle on his pitches. He pitches down in the zone early. He throws his breaking balls for strikes. He can throw that high fastball late with two strikes. That certainly wasn’t the best of Sal, or he wouldn’t have got here in the first place.”
TUESDAY’S GAME
Orioles at Reds, 7:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410
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