Cincinnati Reds: Sal Romano proving he can be a fixture going forward

Pitcher Sal Romano, over his last two starts, has shown why he will be a fixture in the Cincinnati Reds’ rotation going forward in the rebuild.

The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of a brief, two-game interleague series. Starting pitcher, Sal Romano, went 7 strong innings of shutout baseball. Tuesday’s impressive outing was Romano’s second consecutive shutout performance. Romano is proving that he can be a fixture in the Reds’ rotation going forward in the rebuild.

Let’s face it Reds fans, we weren’t expecting to be 18 games below .500 and 15.5 games out of first place in the NL Central at this point in the 2018 season. In all likelihood, this season will mark the fifth consecutive losing season for the Cincinnati Reds. So, while fully embracing the idea that the Reds are still rebuilding this team into a contender, we have to search for the positives. Enter Sal Romano.

Romano has been lights out in his past two starts. He has only allowed one run in the last two games he’s pitched. Not only that, in a year when it seems that getting more than five innings out of a Reds’ starter is a rarity, Romano has pitched eight and seven innings in his last two starts respectively.

Last Tuesday at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Romano went 8 innings, allowed only 4 hits and 1 run. At one point, Romano mowed down 8-of-9 batters in a row before Hunter Dozier hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 5th inning. Romano rebounded and retired 13 of the next 15 batters he faced.

More from Blog Red Machine

• Reds: Reiver Sanmartin adds another twist to offseason roster construction
• Reds: Signing Tyler Mahle to a contract extension should be a top priority
• Reds: Reiver Sanmartin should get first major league start vs Pirates
• Reds should unquestionably bring Wade Miley back in 2022
• Reds: TJ Friedl’s fast start will earn him opportunities in 2022

Fast-forward to last night against the Tigers, and Romano was flat out dominant again. Romano went 7 innings, allowed only 4 hits and struck out 6 batters. He only had 2 strikeouts against the Royals in his previous outing.

Romano did allow 4 free passes, the most he’s allowed since May 25th, but they never came back to bite him. Romano’s 35 walks allowed this season are the most among the Cincinnati Reds’ starters. Luis Castillo is the next in line with 31 on the year.

So what’s next for Sal Romano? Well, he’ll likely get the start on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are second in the National League in batting average and RBIs so it will be a good test for the young right-hander.

The Reds are rebuilding, still, and they need to find players that can be key pieces for the organization going forward. Anthony DeSclafani looks the part, and Tyler Mahle of late has shown he could be an important cog in the rotation. Romano looked shaky not too long ago after his ERA ballooned from 3.83 to 6.23 in a 5-game span.

Next: 5 Reds likely to be traded before the deadline

But Romano seems to have righted the ship and his confidence appears to be sky high. The Reds’ offense has not been the problem this season, it’s been the pitching. The Reds’ front office needs to find out which young arms can be part of the organization going forward. Romano has proved lately that he can be one of those guys.