Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo praised reliever Jordan Romano for striking out MLB homerun-leader Shohei Ohtani with the bases loaded to end the second of Tuesday's double-header with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Angels trailed 4-0 in the bottom of seventh inning when Ohtani came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Up 1-2 in the count, Romano drew a swing-and-miss from the Angels star with a 99 mph fastball on the high-inside part of the strike zone. 

The win allowed the Jays, who lost the first game 6-3, to split the double-header with the Angels and remain two and a half games back in the wild-card race.

“It was an ever better win just because of the way it ended. No one wanted Ohtani to come up with the bases loaded, but that tells you the type of pitcher Romano is,” Montoyo said. “He went right after him and did a great job against one of the best hitters in baseball.”

Romano improved his ERA to 2.61 with a 1.21 WHIP on the season with the outing. He has a 5-1 record this season with 10 saves and 54 strikeouts over 41 1/3 innings pitched.

The Blue Jays, who have five games remaining on the current western road trip, will continue their series with the Angels Wednesday.