OTTAWA- Markham, Ontario’s Jordan Romano made his Major League Baseball debut last night at Camden Yards in Baltimore when he tossed a perfect seventh inning for the Toronto Blue Jays in an 8-6 win over the Orioles.
In the seventh, Romano struck out Pedro Severino, the first batter he faced, before fanning Rio Ruiz and getting Hanser Alberto to ground out to third base.
“It was everything (that) I thought it would be,” said Romano of pitching in a big league game for the first time. “Coming out of those bullpen doors and kinds walking on the field, I was like ‘you know, all the hard work has paid off’ – I’m pitching for my hometown team, so it’s really special.”
Romano, 26, was a tenth round selection of the Blue Jays in 2014 out of Oral Roberts University and has spent his entire professional career in the Blue Jays’ organization outside of 2019 spring training where he was with the Texas rangers and after the club selected him in the Rule V draft.
Romano had a stint with the Junior National Team program in 2010 where he participated in the Dominican Summer League camp.
Romano becomes the 28th former member of the Junior National Team program to reach the big leagues since 2003 and the 12th Canadian-born player to play in the big leagues in 2019.
