TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano suffered a contusion on his right rib cage as he closed out a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Romano was struck in the chest by Wander Franco‘s liner, but he recovered in time to get the out at first base, earning his league-leading sixth save in seven chances.
After the game, the Blue Jays announced X-rays did not reveal a fracture.
“Tough play to make, lot of adrenaline and you get a pretty hard comebacker hit right at you,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “But good ol’ Canadian boy, he’s tough. He’s feeling alright, we’ll check him out.”
Romano, who shook off the training staff after the win, participated in the Blue Jays’ handshake line though he did appear flustered.
The win was Toronto’s second straight over the previously unbeaten Rays. Yusei Kikuchi struck out a season-high nine over six innings and Danny Jansen had two hits and an RBI in the victory.
“We hate losing, probably more than we like winning,” Tampa Bay infielder Taylor Walls said. “Every guy is going to come in tomorrow as if we didn’t lose the past two games. That’s just kind of how this team is built, it’s how every guy in this clubhouse comes to work every day.”
Toronto has won four straight meetings with the Rays dating to last season, its longest streak against Tampa Bay since a five-game run from July to October 2015.
“I don’t think we’re too worried, obviously,” Rays reliever Josh Fleming said of his team’s first losing streak. “It’s still really early.”
Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (3-0, 1.59) will start the series finale Sunday against Alek Manoah (1-0, 4.91).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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X-rays negative after Romano struck in chest in Blue Jays’ win
