Phillies: JC Romero

PHILADELPHIA – Phillies reliever JC Romero, the pride of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, walks with his head held high these days. He pounds his chest a little harder, too.

The left-handed pitcher tied a career-high with 81 appearances for the Phillies during the regular season and his 59 innings pitched were the most since he pitched 57 frames in 2005 for Minnesota.

He went 4-4 with a 2.75 ERA and 52 strikeouts this season. The Phillies bullpen had a 65-9 record when leading after seven innings and went 78-0 when leading after eight innings in 2008.

“Our bullpen has done a tremendous job and pretty much accomplished all the goals we wanted to accomplish,” Romero said. “We shut teams down late in the games and our offense scored all the time. Stay consistent and hopefully we can continue.”

Romero’s brief stint with Boston last season earned him a World Series ring but he wants another piece of hardware because he feels like he didn’t deserve the honor last year. He was released by the Red Sox in the middle of the season before signing with the Phillies.

 But first things first. Romero is not overlooking the Dodgers.

“This is a tough series and it’s just starting,” he said. “For me, I think the home field advantage is a big thing. When we go to Los Angeles, it’s going to be a different feeling. It’s going to be hostile so if we can win two quickly it helps us a lot.”