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DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Ricky Romero is headed back to the minors. One day after being shelled by the Detroit Tigers, the former Opening Day starter and fellow pitcher Marcus Stroman were sent to the Blue Jays minor league camp. Toronto manager John Gibbons said both pitchers needed more work. Gibbons tried to soften the blow for Romero, saying the 29-year-old left-hander had pitched well earlier in the spring and was moving in the right direction after two troubled seasons. "We really like what he did this camp," Gibbons told reporters Wednesday prior to a Grapefruit League game against the Philadelphia Phillies. "Just go down there and polish it up." Stroman, a 2012 first-round draft choice who pitched in Class-AA last season, managed just one out in Tuesdays 18-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The 22-year-old right-hander gave up seven runs on six hits. "He was kind of the odd man out," said Gibbons. "He had trouble throwing strikes (Tuesday). Hes got to do that." Romero, who is due to make US$7.75 million this season, walked five and threw two wild pitches in 2 2/3 innings. Unofficially he threw 57 pitches, 23 for strikes. Gibbons said Romero needs to do "whatever it takes" to throw strikes. He was an all-star in 2011 when he went 15-11 with a 2.92 earned-run average. In 2012, he slumped to 9-14 with a 5.77 ERA and things got worse in 2013, when he saw action in just four games in the majors with an 0-2 record and 11.05 ERA. He spent most of last season in the minors where he went 5-8 with 5.52 ERA. "Its a long road. You never know if a guys going to make it back from that or not," said Gibbons. "But he was starting to show the signs of it. (Tuesday) he wasnt as good and it just kind of reaffirmed, Hey start him down there, but hes moving in the right direction." Romero had been a feel-good story earlier in spring training. Gibbons called him "the big talk of camp" last week after giving up one run in seven innings for an ERA of 1.29 in three appearances. But Romero fell back to earth Tuesday in Lakeland. He gave up three runs on three hits with five walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches. "Weve taken too many steps forward to dwell on this," Romero said philosophically afterwards. Somewhat bizarrely, he referred to a "weird weather day" in noting "the balls were a little slick and just kept coming out of my hand." It was a sunny 20-degree day at Joker Marchant Stadium. Romero has been positive this spring, making an effort to stay in the moment rather than labour in the past or worry about the future. A lot of people have been rooting for him to succeed, including his manager. "We feel for the guy," said Gibbons. "Its not just looking at results. As much work as the kids putting in, things like that -- the battles hes going through, mentally -- you root for him. You root for him extra hard. "But were encouraged. Were positive after this camp. He may look at it differently but we feel positive with what he accomplished this spring." Romero had left the clubhouse by the time the announcement was made. Gibbons said the pitcher was disappointed at the news. "And rightfully so. I cant blame him for that, but hopefully he feels good about how this spring went." Despite the positive signs, Gibbons said he always saw Romero as having an outside shot at making the team. "Personally I thought regardless of the camp he had, it would probably do him some good to start down in the minor leagues in real competition where things are different," he said. "Just to make sure hes back to where he needs to be. "Because you dont want him to come up and if hes not ready to start the season, backslides and he may never regroup. So that was kind of my thinking. But that wasnt everybodys opinion. If he proved he was ready in spring training, he might have been the guy." NOTES -- Gibbons said closer Casey Janssen felt "great" after a throwing on the mound Tuesday and will go again Friday. Hes slated to make three or four appearances before the season starts March 31 in Tampa. Janssen has been limited in action to protect against shoulder soreness. Stitched Blue Jays Jerseys . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Blue Jays Jerseys China .Shipulin pulled away from Martin Fourcade of France, Simon Eder of Austria and Fredrik Lindstrom of Sweden to finish in 35 minutes 16.8 seconds. Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/ . The club announced Friday that Mauro Biello will be kept on as an assistant to coach Jesse Marsch when the Impact join the MLS in 2012. Blue Jays Jerseys 2019 . Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. On the ensuing penalty kick, Lee Nguyen picked up his fourth goal of the season, giving the Revolution a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon. Toronto Blue Jays Shirts . Reyes, 26, was traded from Atlanta to Toronto in July 2010 and spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He began 2011 in the majors and made 20 starts with the Blue Jays, going 5-8 with a 5.40 earned run average before he was waived on Aug. PINEHURST, N.C. -- In the midst of throwing away a four-shot lead, Michelle Wie never lost sight of the big picture at Pinehurst No. 2. The U.S. Womens Open rarely goes according to plan, and Saturday was no exception. Wie knows that from experience long ago, and she settled down with four important pars to wind up with a 54-hole share of the lead for the third time in her career. Wie was a teenager the other two times. Now at 24, she was one round away from capturing her first major. "Im just grateful for another opportunity," Wie said after salvaging a 2-over 72 to tie Amy Yang. "Tomorrow Im going to play as hard as I can and hope for the best." Yang, who earned a spot in the final group for the second time in three years, didnt make a par until the eighth hole in a wild round so typical of this day. Only a sloppy bogey on the final hole cost her the outright lead, though she was more than happy with a 68. They were at 2-under 208, the only players still under par. A pivotal moment for Wie came on the 12th hole. She reached 6 under for the tournament with back-to-back birdies at the turn. She made her first double bogey of the tournament with a tee shot she hooked into the pine trees on the 11th. Her next drive sailed well to the right and settled on a sandy path. Instead of punching under the trees and over the bunker to the green -- anything long is a tough up-and-down -- she pitched out to the fairway and made bogey. "U.S. Opens are tough," she said. "I feel like maybe on a different golf course, I would have taken that chance. You just dont want to be too greedy out here. Even though you make bogey, sometimes you just dont want to make a double out here. I felt like I made the right decision there." The USGA set the course up relative to what the men faced last Saturday in the U.S. Open when wire-to-wire winner Martin Kaymer had his only over-par round with a 72. It was short (6,270 yards) but tough because of the pin positions. That didnt stop Juli Inkster. The 53-year-old Hall of Famer, who has said her 35th appearance in the Womens Open will be her last, had a tournament-best 66 to get into contention. She will be in the penultimate group, four shots out of the lead, still dreaming of a third Open title that would make her by 10 years the oldest Womens Open winner. "You can think and you can dream all you want," Inkster said. "But the bottom line is youve got to come out and make the shots. And if Im tied for the lead coming up 18, then maybe Ill think about it. Ive got a long way to go. Im just going to enjoy the moment and hit a few balls and see wwhat happens.dddddddddddd" Also remaining in the hunt was Lexi Thompson, who won the first LPGA major this year in a final-round duel with Wie, and pulled within one shot of Wie with a pair of birdies early in the round. It fell apart on two holes. Thompson missed the green to the left on No. 8 -- the worst spot at Pinehurst -- and her first chip fell down the slope, leading to double bogey. On the next hole, she went long over the green and chose to take relief she really didnt need from a white line marking the TV tower. Thompson went to the drop zone, and her ball rolled back into a divot. Worst yet, she still used her putter, and it hopped high out of the divot and had no chance to reach the green. She made another double bogey, then made three straight bogeys on the back nine. She birdied the final hole for a 74 that left over 3 over. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished the third round in a tie for 18th place, while Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., tumbled to 56th. Na Yeon Choi had a 71 and was in the group with Inkster at 2-over 212 along with Stephanie Meadow (69) and 18-year-old amateur Minjee Lee of Australia (72). Another shot back were So Yeon Ryu, who played her final 10 holes in 3 under for a 70, and Karrie Webb, who went the final 12 holes without a bogey for a 70. "Michelle Wie has put a few of us back into the tournament," Webb said. "Two hours ago, I didnt think I had a shot. Im pretty happy about that." Wie hit 8-iron to 8 feet for birdie on the par-3 ninth, and then hit a beautiful lag from about 80 feet for at two-putt birdie on the par-5 10th to reach 6 under. One swing changed everything. The back tee on No. 11 was used for the first time all week, playing at 444 yards. Lucy Li, the 11-year-old who missed the cut as the Womens Opens youngest qualifier in history, walked the final 12 holes with the last group. "Man, that hole is like 10 times harder from there," she said. "Well, maybe not for them." Definitely for them based on their shots. Wie hit a snap-hook that rambled through the trees and left her no shot but to go sideways and slightly back. She hit her third in a greenside bunker, blasted out about 25 feet long and nearly off the green and made double bogey. "You cant be in the tree here," Wie said. "But I felt like I grinded out there." Thats what it usually takes in the U.S. Womens Open. Wie shot 82 in final round at Cherry Hills when she was 15. She missed a playoff at Newport by two shots a year later. She is back again, a 24-year-old former teen prodigy, 18 holes away and still a long way to go. ' ' '