Romero almost part of combined no-hitter with Norfolk

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

May 24, 2012, 6:19pm

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J.C. Romero made his debut tonight for Triple-A Norfolk, and he nearly became part of minor league baseball history. Miguel Gonzalez threw five hitless innings at Durham, allowing one walk and striking out four. Romero replaced him and retired the side in order in the sixth with two strikeouts in his first appearance since the Cardinals released him on May 14. Eddie Gamboa followed with two hitless innings, leaving the Tides three outs away from a combined no-hitter. But second baseman Ty Kelly committed an error on a potential game-ending double play grounder after Jon Link issued a walk, and Durham's Matt Mangini followed with a single. Leslie Anderson grounded to Kelly, who started a 4-6-3 double play that completed Norfolk's 4-0 victory. Miguel Tejada went 2-for-4 with his third RBI and a run scored, leaving his average at .429. Lew Ford hit his first home run for Norfolk, and Joe Mahoney had a triple. Brandon Waring and Jai Miller, hitting back-to-back in the lineup, combined to go 0-for-8 with eight strikeouts.