Alarming Start for Jordan Romano Should Have Phillies Concerned

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a highly-anticipated Friday night game.

In a battle between the two National League powers, it was the Phillies who prevailed by handing the reigning World Series champions their first loss of the year to snap their Major League record streak.

There were tons of positives to take away from this contest for Philadelphia.

For starters, Jesus Luzardo looks like the steal of the offseason.

Even though the Phillies didn't want to give up their prized prospect Staryln Caba in any trade scenario, they ultimately decided to ship him to the Miami Marlins to add the left-handed ace to their rotation.

And so far, that decision is proving to be the right one.

Luzardo was sensational on Friday, shutting down the vaunted Dodgers lineup by pitching seven scoreless innings where he gave up just two hits while striking out eight and walking two.

He turned things over to the bullpen, needing just six outs to close the deal.

That's where things got shaky.

Matt Strahm was the first call, and after inducing a ground ball back to him against the first batter he faced for the first out, he promptly gave up a single before ringing up the next hitter. But he then gave up another another single to put runners on first and third which ended his day.

Jose Ruiz was inserted for the righty-on-righty matchup against Mookie Betts that lasted only three pitches before J.T. Realmuto caught Shohei Ohtani trying to steal second which ended the frame.

With a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, offseason signing Jordan Romano was handed the ball to get Philadelphia into the winner's circle.

He accomplished it, but it was not easy by any means.

Romano walked Betts and allowed a two-run homer by Tommy Edman before recording an out. He struck out the next batter he faced but then put the tying run on first base with a walk.

In dramatic fashion, the game ended on a "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" double play.

All is well that ends well, but there are major issues surrounding Romano.

He's made four outings for the Phillies and has given up four earned runs in four innings with a save and another blown opportunity on his ledger. He has struck out six batters, but he's also walked three, putting his WHIP at a concerning figure of 1.75 compared to his career number of 1.15.

Romano is working his way back from the elbow surgery that ended his 2024 campaign after just 15 outings, so there is hope that he can regain his past form with each appearance he makes.

But, Philadelphia needs a strong relief staff for the playoffs. And while that's a long way in the distance, it's never too early to start evaluating who can be trusted arms coming out of the bullpen when it gets to that point.

In addition to the poor offensive stretches for the Phillies the past two Octobers, their relief staff has also not been sharp when it matters the most.

Romano has time to turn things around, but if these types of performances continue, then Philadelphia will have no other choice than to be aggressive at the trade deadline to upgrade their bullpen.