Romano named American League Reliever of the Month
Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) has been named the American League Reliever of the Month for April. Photo: Amanda Fewer
May 2, 2022
Official Major League Baseball News Release
All-Star Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers has been voted the National League Reliever of the Month for April, and Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) of the Toronto Blue Jays has been voted the American League Reliever of the Month for April.
The announcements were made on Monday on MLB Network.
Hader, who is a three-time NL Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award winner, earned his fifth career Reliever of the Month Award, which matches Edwin Díaz and Aroldis Chapman for the most since MLB began awarding relief pitchers with monthly honors in 2005.
Romano claimed his first career Reliever of the Month Award and is the first Blue Jays hurler to accomplish the feat since B.J. Ryan in May 2008.
Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers
-Made 10 scoreless appearances for the Brewers, converting all 10 of his save opportunities. Tallied 15 strikeouts while permitting four walks and two hits across 9 1/3 innings pitched.
-Tallied a strikeout in all but one of his April appearances and did not allow a single hit in all but two of his April outings.
- Became the fifth pitcher in MLB history to earn a save in each of his first 10-or-more games of a season, joining Hall of Famer Lee Smith (12 G, 1994); Jose Mesa (12 G, 2005); Mark Davis (11 G, 1989) and Rod Beck (11 G, 1997).
-His 106 career saves are tied with John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) for second-most in franchise history, and trail only Dan Plesac’s Club record of 133.
Jordan Romano, Toronto Blue Jays
-Appeared in 12 games for the Blue Jays and converted 10-of-11 save opportunities. Compiled a 1.59 ERA to go along with 13 strikeouts and two walks over 11 1/3 innings. Permitted eight hits and one home run.
-His 10 saves were the most in team history for the month of April, surpassing Duane Ward’s previous record of eight set in 1993. Reached the 10-save mark in just 22 team games, the fastest in franchise history.
-Converted 31 consecutive save opportunities from May 11, 2021 – April 22, 2022, the longest such streak in Club history.
-Did not allow a free pass in all but two of his 12 April appearances. Posted a 7:0 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his final five outings of the month
Others receiving votes for NL Reliever of the Month included All-Star Taylor Rogers (8 SV, 0.00 ERA, 8 SO, 1 BB) of the San Diego Padres; Keegan Thompson (2-0, 0.54 ERA, 16.2 IP, 17 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; and Dillon Peters (3-0, 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP, 1 H) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Others receiving votes for AL Reliever of the Month included All-Star Aroldis Chapman (5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 8.1 IP, 11 SO) and Michael King (2-0, 0.69 ERA, 13.0 IP, 20 SO) of the New York Yankees; Raisel Iglesias (6 SV, 0.96 ERA, 12 SO, 1 BB) of the Los Angeles Angels; All-Star Michael Fulmer (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 SO) of the Detroit Tigers; Jorge López (2-1, 4 SV, 1.59 ERA, 14 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; Sam Hentges (8 G, 1.00 IP, 12 SO, 0 BB) of the Cleveland Guardians; and Rafael Montero (1-0, 0.96 ERA, 15 SO, 2 BB) of the Houston Astros.