Major League Baseball

Romo unfazed by bad outings

Published Oct. 15, 2010 10:10 a.m. ET

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Because he allowed hits to the first three Atlanta batters he faced in the Division Series, some Giants fans might have lost a little faith in reliever Sergio Romo.

As Romo prepares for the challenge of dealing with the Phillies' lineup in the NLCS, he says there's one thing he knows he'll bring to the mound in each outing: belief in himself.

"Struggling or throwing well," Romo said Wednesday at AT&T Park, "my mind-set is the same: I go out there and my confidence is through the roof, always."

Romo has plenty of reasons to be confident. The 27-year-old right-hander doesn't overpower hitters, but he throws a nasty slider and has excellent control 14 walks in 62 innings in the regular season.

Not only did Romo go 5-3 with a 2.18 ERA in 2010, his September-October record in the regular season was rather impressive: 14 appearances, 9 1/3 innings, no runs, one walk, 14 strikeouts.

Then came Game 2 of the Division Series. Romo opened the eighth inning by allowing singles to Derrek Lee and Brian McCann, the only two hitters he faced. Atlanta would score three times in the inning to tie the game and would win 5-4 in 11 innings.

Shift the scene to Turner Field for Game 3. Again, Romo entered the game in the eighth, this time replacing Jonathan Sanchez with a man at first and one out and the Giants up 1-0. Pinch-hitter Eric Hinske took Romo deep to right and, just like that, the Giants were trailing.

"This is the big leagues," Romo said, "so when you make mistakes, you're going to get hurt. You expect to get hurt. That's just basically what happened the last couple of times out."

Romo did record the last two outs of the eighth and wound up with the victory after the Giants scored twice in the ninth to pull out a 3-2 decision.

Whether Bruce Bochy will call on Romo in the eighth inning against the Phillies remains a matter of conjecture. Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez combined for the three eighth-inning outs in the Giants' 3-2 series clincher in Game 4.

On Wednesday, the Giants' manager said Romo will be considered for the eighth, but Bochy added that Casilla, Lopez and Ramon Ramirez are candidates to get the 22nd, 23rd and 24th outs.

Romo isn't territorial about the eighth inning.

"I pitch when I'm told to pitch," he said. "I don't worry about what inning, what situation. I want to pitch. Whenever he gives me the ball, I'm excited to pitch.

"I want to do my best for what's best for the team. I'm not going to be hurt or bummed out or anything if I don't pitch in a certain situation."

Pitching in any situation against the Phillies can be stressful. A lineup that features Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, et al, poses problems, no matter the inning.

Said Romo: "You've got to respect what they have to offer. But the thing is, I respect who they are, but I'm going to go out and do my thing. I have the confidence that I have the stuff to get them out.

"So, when I see them in the box, my attitude doesn't change. It's just the competitive nature comes out. Here we go: It's my best against theirs, right?"

The Phillies have been the best team in the National League the past two seasons. Romo believes the Giants have what it takes to stop a three-peat.

He said the Phillies have "a good mix of people over there, veterans and young guys. It's going to be exciting. We're pretty good, too, so watch out for us."

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