Music: {allcanada} ROMERO TAKES THE MOUND AS JAYS FACE A'S IN TWO-GAME SERIES

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

{allcanada} ROMERO TAKES THE MOUND AS JAYS FACE A'S IN TWO-GAME SERIES

Ricky Romero wasn't at his sharpest last time out, but he was good enough to keep his perfect record this season intact.

Romero hopes to remain unbeaten both in 2012 and lifetime against the Athletics as the Toronto Blue Jays visit Oakland for a quick two-game series.

Romero is the first Blue Jays pitcher to open a season 4-0 since Scott Richmond in 2009. He improved his record on Wednesday versus the Rangers despite allowing five runs on six hits and three walks, pitching eight innings and striking out a season-high six in an 11-5 win.

Most of the damage off the left-hander came during a four-run fifth in which Romero walked the bases loaded and allowed the first five Texas batters to reach base. Still, Romero thought he handled a dangerous offense well.

"That's a tough team, a tough lineup," said Romero about the Rangers. "I thought I did a pretty good job at throwing strikes and keeping them off balance."

The 27-year-old sixth overall pick of the 2005 draft has a 3.64 earned run average through his six starts this year and has never lost to the Athletics. In five prior meetings he has gone 4-0 with an excellent 1.49 ERA.

The Blue Jays make the trip to Oakland after dropping Sunday's contest with the hosting Angels 4-3. Toronto took the first two contests of the four-game set before losing the final two engagements.

J.P. Arencibia had three hits and scored twice, while rookie Drew Hutchison took the loss despite a career-high six strikeouts. He was charged with four runs on eight hits without a walk over is 5 1/3-inning outing.

"Hutch kept us in the game," said Toronto manager John Farrell, whose starter logged his first major league loss in his fourth start. "We're putting ourselves into a position to score runs ... We're going to battle until the final out."

Like Toronto, Oakland was off on Monday and that prompted manager Bob Melvin to switch his starters for this series. Rookie Jarrod Parker will have his outing pushed back to Wednesday to get some extra rest, while Brandon McCarthy moves up a day to make his eighth start of the season.

The right-hander has won consecutive outings after going 0-3 over his first five starts. He hurled seven innings of two-run ball to win at Baltimore five days before he picked up a victory in Boston on Wednesday. McCarthy held the Red Sox to a run on five hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings and a season high-tying 113 pitches.

"I felt like I was able to throw a lot of strikes and my command was solid," said McCarthy, who lowered his season ERA to 2.96.

The 28-year-old is 3-2 with a 3.79 ERA in nine career games versus the Blue Jays, including six starts.

The A's finished up a nine-game road trip on Sunday with a win over the Rays, posting a 5-4 record on the swing thanks to a win in four of the final five games. Oakland capped the trek with a 9-5 win, getting four RBI from Brandon Inge.

Inge, signed on April 29 after getting released by the Tigers, hit a three-run homer in the third, his first with Oakland, and added another RBI in the seventh inning. He is 4-for-23 with five RBI in six games with the Athletics.

Jonny Gomes added two hits, two RBI and two runs scored and Daric Barton also knocked in two as starter Tommy Milone (4-2) earned the victory despite allowing five runs -- including four in the first inning -- on five hits and four walks in five innings of work.

"When you get down by four runs right away like we did, you're hoping it doesn't snowball," Inge said. "It could have turned into a 10-0 game. We needed to get something quick."

These two clubs split 10 meetings a season ago, with each winning twice in Oakland.