Romo's emblematic inning: Two knee braces, three outs

BOX SCORE

SAN DIEGOSergio Romo waddled out of the trainers room asgracefully as he could for a man with three of four appendages wrapped in ice.

He was the walking, waddling emblem of the state of affairsin the Giants bullpen these days. The Giants are without closer Brian Wilsonfor the season. Theyve been without backup closer Santiago Casilla for thebetter part of a week.

And in the late innings Wednesday afternoon, theirthird-string closer looked to be unavailable as well.

Romo, who already was battling a balky right knee, felt atwinge in his left knee when he began stretching in the bullpen in the seventhinning.

It was red-alert time, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.The trainers ran out there.

They fitted Romo with a brace. He pitched the ninth inning.The count: two knee braces, three outs, and a 6-5 Giants victory over the SanDiego Padres.

I really didnt think hed be available, Bochy said. Buthe went out there and pitched great. It went away and he got the job done.

Somehow, the Giants bullpen continues to get the job done.The club is 27-1 when leading after seven innings. And the only loss came anight earlier at Petco Park, after Jeremy Affeldt gave up a fluky, tying homerun to Carlos Quentin on a change-up nearly in the dirt.

Affeldt wasnt available Wednesday after throwing threeinnings over the previous two games. Casilla, who hasnt pitched since Fridaybecause of a bone bruise in his right knee, remained available in an emergencyonly.

After Romo felt his twinge, Bochy said, Well . I was goingto have to start getting creative at that point.

He pushed Clay Hensley for five outs, and when Romo toldbullpen coach Mark Gardner that he would be OK to go, Bochy decided to bring infourth-string closer Javier Lopez with two on and two out in the eighth. Lopez escapedwhen he induced a tapper and raced over to tag Mark Kotsay on the chest.

Then Romo put everything aside in the ninth. The littleslider specialist struck out Chris Denorfia. He got Cameron Maybin to fly out.And with Quentin looming in the on-deck circle, Romo threw a pair of 88 mphfastballs to Chase Headley. The first one missed to run the count full. Thenext one slipped past his bat.

Just fastballs, reaching back with all I had, said Romo,who often has expressed reticence about throwing anything other than his sliderwith the game on the line. I figured, 'Hey, I dont know. Just go at him.' Itpanned out. I dont know what he was looking for. I just know I had to make thebest pitch I could.

I had it in my head that last pitch, that fastball, thatwas going to be my best pitch of the night. That turned out to be the case.

Romo did not wince in pain as he pitched. He said he put hisknee ailments out of his mind.

Naw man, youve got to cart me off the field to make sure Icant play, Romo said. Thats the mentality I take. Im ready to rockregardless of whether I feel good or not.

I get paid to play. You dont feel like you earn yourpaycheck unless youre on the field performing, contributing. Im glad hes gotthe confidence to put me out there. When Im out there, I dont think about it.Ive got the mentality of, 'Hey, my team needs me.'"

Its a mentality that has worked for the entire bullpen.Despite the upheaval of losing Wilson, a three-time All-Star, to season-endingsurgery after two appearances, the bullpen has remained one of the most stablecomponents of the team.

Casilla is 14 for 15 in save chances. Romo is 3 for 3 in thesave department and the rest of his numbers (0.54 ERA, a .140 opponentsaverage, punching out 14 of his last 25 hitters faced) are flat-out ridiculous.Lopez, Hensley and Affeldt all have a save, too.

Nobody has looked skittish or out of place when tried in the ninthinning. And thats a rarity. How many dominant late-inning relievers have youseen that either freeze up or freak out in the ninth? Thats the reason why,even though it doesnt seem statistically prudent, a half-dozen teams will goout every winter and spend millions on a known commodity to pitch that inning.

So how have the Giants relievers managed to hold ittogether without Wilson? How have a bunch of setup men and specialists managed to look so comfortable in theninth?

Well, I think the types of games we play are valuableexperience for these guys, Bochy said. Even when theyre setting up, for themost part the game is on the line. Its performing under pressure and theyvehad to do this for awhile. Theyre not afraid out there. Really, the eighthinning is like the ninth for us. They maintain their focus and they dont lookat it as a different inning.

Sure, the Giants have lost their share of games in the lateinnings, and the bullpen has a 7-12 record. But get this: the Giants startingpitchers have given up 14 unearned runs all season; the bullpen has beensaddled with 16 unearned runs in nearly two-thirds fewer innings.

Put another way: 24.2 percent of the bullpens runs havebeen unearned, compared to just 9.2 percent for the rotation.

And dont forget, the team also lost Guillermo Motaavaluable swingman the previous two seasonsto a 100-game drug suspension.

This is the first bullpen Ive been a part of where yourestablished closer goes down, and you get another guy with a plus fastball andhe goes down, and everybody still finds a way to step up and fill the gap,Lopez said.

You always think youre strong and you feel good aboutyourself when you have everybody lined up. When you see all the attrition here,and guys are still stepping up, getting the job done, thats the part younotice.

Nobody is trying to do too much. Nobody is asking too much.

Bochy hoped Romos tricky knees would allow him to beavailable on Thursday as the Giants go for a series victory behind Matt Cain.Bochy finally hopes to have Casilla available, too.

And, for the first time this season, Wilson is on the travelsquad. Hes doing his rehab workwith trainers, as bearded as ever. Bochy said the club could look forward tohaving Wilson along for most trips the rest of the way.

Im just surprised, said Bochy, that Willie didnt comedown and say, 'Hey, use me.'"

Romos sunny disposition clouds up when hes asked about injuries,almost as if hes embarrassed by them. But even he had to smile at theridiculousness of limping along with glaciers strapped to his body.

Now its time to take care of these ailments, he said, andcome back tomorrow, do it again.