NEW YORK -- A day after landing on the 15-day injured list with right middle finger inflammation, Phillies right-hander Jordan Romano said that he plans to pitch again this season.
“I do; I just need to figure some things out, for sure,” Romano said before Wednesday night’s game against the Mets at Citi Field. “Obviously, the way I was pitching wasn’t great at all. I need to figure it out and hopefully get back to feeling like my old self.”
Romano first felt the inflammation a few days ago, when he woke up and his right middle finger stayed numb for four to five hours. He worked with the training staff to calm the inflammation to a spot where he felt comfortable throwing.
Romano entered Monday’s game in the seventh inning and allowed four runs, raising his ERA to 8.23. When he woke up the next morning, he still felt the inflammation, prompting the trip to the IL. Romano underwent testing, and he expects to have those results on Thursday.
“Missing time absolutely sucks,” Romano said. “I just wanted to be available. Obviously I wasn’t pitching well, but if there’s one thing I can do, it was at least be available.”
It’s another snag for the 32-year-old Romano in a disappointing season. Signed on Dec. 9 to serve as a reliable high-leverage arm, he has been anything but: His 8.23 ERA across 42 2/3 innings is the second-highest ERA of 350 pitchers to throw at least 40 innings this season.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that Romano’s inflammation could be causing his inconsistent velocity. On Monday, Romano’s four-seam fastball topped out at 97 mph, but it also dipped to as low as 93.2 mph.
“I’m trying to figure that out, too,” Romano said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. My last pitch that outing was 97. It’s frustrating for me, too. We know it’s in there. It could be a delivery thing. It could be a health thing.”
The Phillies’ bullpen shuffle Tuesday also saw them release veteran righty Joe Ross. In corresponding moves, the team brought up right-handers Lou Trivino and Daniel Robert from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Ross -- another offseason acquisition -- relieved Romano on Monday and allowed three runs in the eighth inning. The 32-year-old pitched to a 5.12 ERA in 37 games with the Phillies, with all but one of those appearances coming as a reliever.
“Just performance, more than anything,” Thomson said. “Ross is a good man, good teammate, took the ball whenever. We wanted to get a look at Trivino.”
Trivino, 33, was signed by the Phillies as a Minor League free agent on Aug. 4. He pitched eight scoreless innings over seven outings at Triple-A, flashing a four-pitch mix with a four-seam fastball sitting at 95-96 mph.
The right-hander pitched to a 4.42 ERA in 37 MLB games (35 in relief) with the GIants and Dodgers earlier this year in his return from Tommy John surgery.
“The stuff is good,” Thomson said. “He’s been throwing the ball well.”
Robert, 30, rejoins the Phillies after making 12 relief appearances for the club earlier this season, posting a 5.79 ERA.
Trivino and Robert provide fresh arms to a unit that has worked hard of late, with hit-or-miss results. Philadelphia’s bullpen makeover at the Trade Deadline saw it acquire star closer Jhoan Duran, reinstate left-hander José Alvarado and bring up veteran David Robertson. Yet Phillies relievers have combined for a 4.24 ERA in August, 18th in MLB.
Those struggles have been magnified in the first two games of this pivotal showdown with the Mets. Romano and Ross combined to put Monday’s game out of reach. On Tuesday, Orion Kerkering faltered in relief of Jesús Luzardo, while Jhoan Duran endured one of the worst outings of his MLB career, allowing four consecutive singles en route to a walk-off loss.