Ex-Blue Jays closer's disastrous Yankees history somehow got much worse on Wednesday

Jordan Romano has no answer for his New York Yankees problem. The former Toronto closer had his demons rear their ugly heads twice this week during the LA Angels visit to Yankee Stadium. The Angels went 1-2 during the first three games of their four game set, and both losses could be traced back to Romano's ineffectiveness.

On Monday (Apr. 13) Romano entered the game with a 10-8 lead in the ninth inning. But he faced five batters, allowed three hits, walked two, gave up the game tying home run, and also lost the game on a wild pitch that allowed the winning run to score. But on Wednesday (Apr. 15) somehow things got even worse.

Romano just can't find a way to beat the Yankees, even with his new team

Ramano entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead. After Giancarlo Stanton lined out to begin the inning, the wheels fell apart. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the plate, Romano got the Yankees second baseman to pop up on the infield, which should have been the second out. Unfortunately for Romano, infielders Zach Neto and Oswald Peraza had some miscommunication on the play and the ball dropped in between them on the infield dirt. Two batters later José Caballero hit a double to center field that brought home both Chisholm and Austin Wells, who had walked before Caballero's at-bat, and Romano was saddled with another blown save, his second of the season.

While this one can't totally be pinned on Romano - since the pop up should have been caught, and the Angels also just came up short on a relay throw that could have thrown out Wells at the plate - it does add to what has been a frustrating career line for Romano against the Yankees.

Going back to his Blue Jays days, he was also equally ineffective against the Bronx Bombers. In 26 career games, the Yankees have hit .284/.378/.484 against him. He has a career 6.17 ERA and has allowed 17 runs (16 earned) in 23.1 innings, while walking 14 and striking out 29 hitters.

Those are tough games for Romano to get through considering he was virtually perfect this season up until this most recent series. In six games with five innings pitched, Romano had not allowed a single hit or a run to score. He had seven strikeouts, and walked just two hitters. It was looking like a remarkable turnaround season for Romano who hasn't looked like himself for the last two seasons.

Romano was an All-Star for the Blue Jays in 2023, putting up his third straight season of being worth over 2.0 bWAR. But in 2024 he was hurt, appearing in only 15 games and racking up an ERA of 6.59. He elected free agency in 2025, and signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. He didn't fare well there either and in 49 games he pitched 42.2 innings and allowed 40 runs (39 earned runs) finishing with an ERA north of 8.00.

Looking for a fresh start, he headed to the West Coast and was thriving in his first few weeks with the team. It's only two games, but it's two games against an opponent that has really taken him to task over his career.

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