LAKELAND, Fla. Tedy Bruschi Jersey . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. The plan was for Romero and Marcus Stroman to combine for nine innings, with none of Torontos established bullpen members along for the ride. Instead the Tigers had their way with Romero, Jeremy Jeffress, Stroman and Marcus Walden. How bad was the Jays day? Romero had a dismal outing and he was long gone before the Tigers put up nine runs in the fifth inning for a 13-0 lead. The Jays issued 11 walks and were outhit 17-6 by Detroit in three hours and 28 minutes of spring training torment. Reading Detroits linescore was like dialling Moscow: 02119302. "Today all the way around it was just a bad day, every phase of the game," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Ill let that one go. Ive got nothing to say. Tough for me to analyze. You were watching what I was watching." Several questions later, Gibbons did offer some analysis. "It just shows you if you dont pitch, its tough to play," he said. Romero gave up a two-run homer to Austin Jackson in the second after hitting a Tiger to put him on base and yielded another run in an unsightly third inning that featured a triple, four walks and two wild pitches. It could have been far worse, but two Tigers were caught stealing in the inning. The left-hander exited after 2 2/3 innings, giving way to Jeffress after yielding three runs on three hits with five walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches. Unofficially Romero threw 57 pitches, 23 for strikes on a sunny 20-degree day with 8,328 on hand at scenic Joker Marchant Stadium. "Weve taken too many steps forward to dwell on this," Romero said philosophically afterwards. Romero and Jeffress walked eight between them in the first four innings. Asked afterwards if Romero would get another start, Gibbons opted not to answer. But he did note Romeros earlier improved outings. "Im encouraged. Ive seen it. So he can still build off that," he said. Likely in the minor leagues again, however. Things continued to fall apart when Stroman gave up a walk, four singles, a double and a grand slam homer to Don Kelly in a fifth inning that went from bad to worse. It took Stroman, a first-round pick in the 2012 draft, seven batters to record an out in the inning. Walden, a fellow minor-leaguer, took over and the onslaught continued as Ian Kinsler slammed a three-homer over the left-field fence. Jeffress walked three and struck out two while giving up an unearned run in 1 1/3 inning. Stroman got one out, at the expense of six hits and seven earned runs. Walden gave up five earned runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings. While Romero suffered a meltdown on the mound, Toronto bats were quiet against Tigers starter Drew Smyly. Melky Cabrera, with a single and double, and Colby Rasmus (walk) were the only Jays to get on base in Smylys five innings. Toronto finally got on the board in the sixth inning with four runs against reliever Blaine Hardy. And the scoreboard kept ticking with Detroit adding three in the sixth and two in the eighth. Randy Boone and Justin Jackson also pitched for Toronto. Romero had seemed to be writing a story with a happier ending this spring. He came into Tuesdays game having given up one run in seven innings for an ERA of 1.29 in three appearances that saw him strike out six and walk five. "The big talk of camp right now is Ricky Romero," Gibbons said last Thursday. "It looks like hes on the way back, and thats what excites us all." Romero had limited the Tampa Bay Rays to one run in four innings in his last outing with two of those innings clinical 1-2-3 affairs. Tuesday was his first start of the spring and it went south after a first inning that saw him give up a leadoff single but get it back with a double play. Romero gave up three runs on three hits, walking five with no strikeouts. He had two wild pitches and hit a batsman. Three Tiger base-running errors limited the damage. Romero said he wasnt following through on his delivery, for some reason, and had trouble with his off-speed pitches. "Its a bad outing," he said. "Ive had three good outings. It happens as a pitcher ... My heads up. Its just a bad day." While saying he didnt want to make excuses, Romero somewhat strangely referred to a "weird weather day" in noting "the balls were a little slick and just kept coming out of my hand." Romero was an all-star in 2011 when he went 15-11 with a 2.92 earned-run average. In 2012, he slumped to 9-14 with a 5.77 ERA and things got worse in 2013, when he saw action in just four games in the majors with an 0-2 record and 11.05 ERA. The 29-year-old Los Angeles native spent most of last season in the minors where he went 5-8 with 5.52 ERA. A non-roster invitee this spring, Romero is due to make US$7.75 million both this season and next. Also Tuesday, left-hander Mark Buehrle and right-hander Brandon Morrow faced each other in an intra-squad game at the Jays minor-league complex. Morrow threw 3 2/3 innings with four hits, two runs (both earned), two walks and two strikeouts on 63 pitches. Buehrle went 4 1/3 innings with five hits, three runs (two earned), two walks and three strikeouts on 81 pitches. NOTES -- Tigers star Miguel Cabrera was part of the lineup playing the Mets .... Former Jay Rajai Davis was an injury scratch (hamstring) Tuesday.Stephen Gostkowski Jersey . The Oilers have the third selection in Friday nights first round, a year after taking Darnell Nurse seventh and two years removed from a streak of three consecutive No. Brandon LaFell Jersey . The Bobcats (2-2) trailed 35-23 early in the second quarter, but cut the lead to 42-40 at halftime. Charlotte outscored Cleveland 32-17 in the third quarter to go ahead 72-59 and pulled away.ATLANTA -- The Brewers saved their swings for the game and earned another break from batting practice. Mark Reynolds hit a first-inning grand slam, Kyle Lohse combined with Francisco Rodriguez on a five-hitter and Milwaukee ended a four-game losing streak by beating the Braves 6-1 Wednesday night. Carlos Gomez added a two-run homer in the fourth for Milwaukee, which skipped batting practice after being shut out 5-0 Tuesday night. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said hell try the same formula again. "No BP at all," Roenicke said of his plan for Thursdays pregame. "I think they would like not doing it again. That works." Lohse (6-1) was sharp while going eight innings to win his sixth straight decision. He gave up one run on four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts. Lohses only loss of the season came against the Braves on April 1. The Brewers jumped on Ervin Santana (4-2) in the first inning. Gomez singled, Scooter Gennett doubled and Jonathan Lucroy took a one-out walk before Reynolds third career grand slam -- a line drive over the left-field wall. "It was big. Weve been struggling the past couple of games," Reynolds said. "Give Lohse some breathing room." Reynolds snapped a 0-for-12 streak with his ninth homer, pulling a slider from Santana over the left-field wall. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez called the pitch "a cement-mixer slider." Reynolds said the homer "wasnt so much good for me as it was for the team." "Guys dont feel like they have to do so much with one swing," he said. The Braves scored their only run off Lohse in the first inning on back-to-back doubles by Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton, who had three hits. Lohse did not allow another baserunner to reach second base. Atlantas only other hits off Lohse were singles by Jason Heyward in the third and Upton in the seventh. "It seemed like he hit all the quadrants of the strike zone: in, up, down and away with all his pitches," Gonzalez said. "t;He mixed it well. Jamie Collins Womens Jersey Elite. He kept us off balance." Freeman said the Braves batters "were aggressive" but couldnt take advantage of opportunities. "He made a lot of mistakes, we just popped them all up, it seemed like," Freeman said. "We just didnt get it done tonight." Upton had a two-out single off Rodriguez in the ninth before Chris Johnsons third strikeout ended the game. The Brewers took advantage of Santanas two-out walk to Lohse in the fourth. Gomez followed with a high homer, his 10th, over the centre field wall. Gomez circled the bases without incident, avoiding a repeat of an ugly melee on Sept. 25, 2013. In that game, Gomez was slow to leave the batters box following a homer at Turner Field, and he exchanged words with Braves infielders as he circled the bases and then was blocked at home plate by former Atlanta catcher Brian McCann. That led to a brawl that emptied both dugouts. Santana allowed a season-high six runs on nine hits and four walks in seven innings. The Brewers two homers matched the total allowed by Santana in his first seven starts. The Braves have lost three of Santanas last four starts, and the last two have been ugly. The right-hander allowed five runs on 10 hits in five innings in a 5-2 loss at St. Louis on Friday. Santana, 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA in April, has seen his ERA climb to 3.42. He said poor location led to the first-inning struggles. NOTES: Roenicke said he doesnt think RHP Yovani Gallardo, who left Tuesday nights game after spraining his left ankle, will land on the DL. Roenicke said Gallardo must make dramatic improvement to avoid missing his next scheduled start on Sunday at Miami. "Its got to be a lot better tomorrow," Roenicke said. ... Braves C Evan Gattis missed his second straight game with viral symptoms, but was available off the bench. ... Lohse improved to 4-0 in six career starts at Turner Field. ... The four-game series ends Thursday night with Braves RHP Aaron Harang facing Brewers RHP Matt Garza. ' ' '
