Romero wins third straight start, Rays winning streak ends at seven games in loss to Blue Jays

Romero wins third straight start, beats Rays 5-0

TORONTO — Ricky Romero pitched four-hit ball over eighth innings, Rod Barajas, Adam Lind and Scott Rolen each homered and the Toronto Blue Jays end the Tampa Bay Rays’ seven-game winning streak with a 5-0 victory Wednesday.

Romero (6-3),who took a no-hitter into the seventh in his last start, matched the longest outing of his career in winning his third straight start. He walked four, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 2.85. Romero allowed just two hits through the first six innings.

Jason Frasor pitched the ninth to complete the four-hitter, the Blue Jays’ sixth shutout.

Toronto snapped a four game losing streak thanks to a trio of solo home runs off James Shields (6-6).

Barajas hit connected with one out in the seventh, his eighth. Lind and Rolen hit consecutive shots in the eighth, the third time this season the Blue Jays have gone back-to-back. Lind’s homer was his 16th and Rolen’s was his sixth.

Toronto’s defense helped the rookie left-hander get out of a jam in the seventh, when the Rays loaded the bases with two singles and a walk. Romero escaped by getting Pat Burrell to ground into a double play.

A walk and an error by shortstop Marco Scutaro gave the Rays runners at first and second with none out in the eighth. But Scutaro redeemed himself by catching a line drive from pinch-hitter Willy Aybar, then flipping to second to get Jason Bartlett for the double play.

Romero walked B.J. Upton but the Rays came up empty when Carl Crawford flied out to the warning track in right.

James Shields allowed five runs — four earned — and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings. He walked one and struck out eight.

Shields retired the first eight Toronto batters before Jose Bautista hit an infield single in the third. Scutaro followed with an RBI double down the left-field line, his first hit in 18 at-bats.

The Blue Jays made it 2-0 in the fourth. Lind led off with a double to right and scored one out later when a hard smash from Lyle Overbay went through Carlos Pena’s legs at first for a two-base error.

Rolen extended his hitting streak to a career-high 19 games with a single in the sixth and Overbay snapped an 0-for-16 skid with a single in the eighth.

NOTES: Toronto OF Vernon Wells, stuck in a 2-for-19 slump, was held out of the starting lineup and was booed when he came on as a defensive replacement in the ninth. With Wells out, Lind batted third for just the second time this season while Overbay hit fifth. … The Blue Jays celebrated Canada Day with red caps and jerseys. Canadian-born Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins threw out the first pitch and a group of fans in right field hung maple leaf signs instead of Ks to mark strikeouts… This was the first of five straight day games for Toronto, who begin a four-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday.