LAKELAND, Fla. -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. The plan was for Romero and Marcus Stroman to combine for nine innings, with none of Torontos established bullpen members along for the ride. Instead the Tigers had their way with Romero, Jeremy Jeffress, Stroman and Marcus Walden. How bad was the Jays day? Romero had a dismal outing and he was long gone before the Tigers put up nine runs in the fifth inning for a 13-0 lead. The Jays issued 11 walks and were outhit 17-6 by Detroit in three hours and 28 minutes of spring training torment. Reading Detroits linescore was like dialling Moscow: 02119302. "Today all the way around it was just a bad day, every phase of the game," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Ill let that one go. Ive got nothing to say. Tough for me to analyze. You were watching what I was watching." Several questions later, Gibbons did offer some analysis. "It just shows you if you dont pitch, its tough to play," he said. Romero gave up a two-run homer to Austin Jackson in the second after hitting a Tiger to put him on base and yielded another run in an unsightly third inning that featured a triple, four walks and two wild pitches. It could have been far worse, but two Tigers were caught stealing in the inning. The left-hander exited after 2 2/3 innings, giving way to Jeffress after yielding three runs on three hits with five walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches. Unofficially Romero threw 57 pitches, 23 for strikes on a sunny 20-degree day with 8,328 on hand at scenic Joker Marchant Stadium. "Weve taken too many steps forward to dwell on this," Romero said philosophically afterwards. Romero and Jeffress walked eight between them in the first four innings. Asked afterwards if Romero would get another start, Gibbons opted not to answer. But he did note Romeros earlier improved outings. "Im encouraged. Ive seen it. So he can still build off that," he said. Likely in the minor leagues again, however. Things continued to fall apart when Stroman gave up a walk, four singles, a double and a grand slam homer to Don Kelly in a fifth inning that went from bad to worse. It took Stroman, a first-round pick in the 2012 draft, seven batters to record an out in the inning. Walden, a fellow minor-leaguer, took over and the onslaught continued as Ian Kinsler slammed a three-homer over the left-field fence. Jeffress walked three and struck out two while giving up an unearned run in 1 1/3 inning. Stroman got one out, at the expense of six hits and seven earned runs. Walden gave up five earned runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings. While Romero suffered a meltdown on the mound, Toronto bats were quiet against Tigers starter Drew Smyly. Melky Cabrera, with a single and double, and Colby Rasmus (walk) were the only Jays to get on base in Smylys five innings. Toronto finally got on the board in the sixth inning with four runs against reliever Blaine Hardy. And the scoreboard kept ticking with Detroit adding three in the sixth and two in the eighth. Randy Boone and Justin Jackson also pitched for Toronto. Romero had seemed to be writing a story with a happier ending this spring. He came into Tuesdays game having given up one run in seven innings for an ERA of 1.29 in three appearances that saw him strike out six and walk five. "The big talk of camp right now is Ricky Romero," Gibbons said last Thursday. "It looks like hes on the way back, and thats what excites us all." Romero had limited the Tampa Bay Rays to one run in four innings in his last outing with two of those innings clinical 1-2-3 affairs. Tuesday was his first start of the spring and it went south after a first inning that saw him give up a leadoff single but get it back with a double play. Romero gave up three runs on three hits, walking five with no strikeouts. He had two wild pitches and hit a batsman. Three Tiger base-running errors limited the damage. Romero said he wasnt following through on his delivery, for some reason, and had trouble with his off-speed pitches. "Its a bad outing," he said. "Ive had three good outings. It happens as a pitcher ... My heads up. Its just a bad day." While saying he didnt want to make excuses, Romero somewhat strangely referred to a "weird weather day" in noting "the balls were a little slick and just kept coming out of my hand." Romero 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. The 29-year-old Los Angeles native spent most of last season in the minors where he went 5-8 with 5.52 ERA. A non-roster invitee this spring, Romero is due to make US$7.75 million both this season and next. Also Tuesday, left-hander Mark Buehrle and right-hander Brandon Morrow faced each other in an intra-squad game at the Jays minor-league complex. Morrow threw 3 2/3 innings with four hits, two runs (both earned), two walks and two strikeouts on 63 pitches. Buehrle went 4 1/3 innings with five hits, three runs (two earned), two walks and three strikeouts on 81 pitches. NOTES -- Tigers star Miguel Cabrera was part of the lineup playing the Mets .... Former Jay Rajai Davis was an injury scratch (hamstring) Tuesday. Nike Shoes China . - The Seattle Sounders busy off-season continues with the team acquiring defender Chad Marshall from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and allocation money. Wholesale Nike Shoes .com Tours season-opening Colombia Championship on Sunday, breaking the course record with an 8-under 63 in the completion of the third round before rain washed out play. https://www.fakenikeshoeswholesale.com/. Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. Cheap Nike Shoes . Trailing by a goal after 20 minutes of play, Joe Pavelski responded with three goals and an assist as the Sharks snapped a two-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Nike Shoes Outlet . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots.LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery has a short list of candidates he expects to be available with the 14th pick in next weeks draft. Six players, to be precise. "Id be happy that two out of the six were on the board at our pick, and Id be ecstatic if three out of the six were on the board at our pick," Emery said Thursday. The Bears went 8-8 last season and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years, hurt by a defence that ranked among the leagues worst. Emery has spent the off-season overhauling that group, bringing in Jared Allen and parting ways with Julius Peppers. The makeover figures to continue in the draft even though Emery would not rule out going with an offensive player at No. 14. The most obvious holes, though, are on defence. The Bears still could use help on the defensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary. Assuming they go with a defensive player — and assuming they keep the pick — the options at 14 could include Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Alabama free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert. Dropping back a few spots could give the Bears more selections, and Emery said he has been fielding calls from teams looking to move up. "Just say in theory you go down six picks," Emery said. "That means you have to count your pick youre giving up is one, and if youre going to pick six picks later, you have to have six players on the board that have that graded value that youre comfortable taking. ... So if you dont have that number of players you feel good about you shouldnt trade." Emery also indicated that trading up is unlikely. "Trade ups are expensive, obviously, and you just have to feel like that that player youre trading up for makes a dynamic difference in your team," he said. The Bears have already made plenty of noise this season. They made a huge splash when they signed Allen, hoping the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end energizes a defence thaat ranked 30th overall and last against the run.dddddddddddd He had 11 1/2 sacks last season, his seventh straight in double figures, and is a solid run defender. The Bears also added defensive ends Lamarr Houston and Willie Young along with safeties Ryan Mundy and M.D. Jennings. They brought back cornerback Charles Tillman on a one-year deal, re-signed defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff to a two-year contract and split with safety Major Wright. There have been some big moves. But there are still some big questions. The starting safety spots are up for grabs after Wright and Chris Conte struggled last season. Emery called it "a wide-open competition, best player wins." Wright signed with Tampa Bay in the off-season. Conte had shoulder surgery in late March and could start training camp on the physically unable to perform list, although Emery expects him to be ready for the first preseason game. Emery also said hes "absolutely" comfortable with Jordan Palmer backing up Jay Cutler at quarterback, with Josh McCown now in Tampa Bay. And he made that clear when the team started off-season workouts last month. "Same thing I told Josh: Glad youre here, looking forward to your contributions and were counting on you," Emery said. "And Jordan, since the time that he came last year has been nothing but a positive." Emery also reiterated the teams long-held desire not to be documented on HBOs "Hard Knocks," although he acknowledged the decision is not the organizations. He cited the franchises history, fan base and interest as reasons to look elsewhere. "I think theres a number of teams that dont have as much attraction, have as big a base for whatever reasons — their population or their history," he said. "Obviously, this is a tremendous, historic franchise. I think there will probably be other places that could benefit from it other than the Chicago Bears. Hows that for an answer?" ' ' '