DUNEDIN, Fla. – Right-hander Justin Germano has been down this road before. It’s a bumpy one and no one can ever be sure where it ends.

Germano, who’s played parts of six seasons in the majors, is in training camp this year with the Boston Red Sox as a nonroster invitee. He started and threw a pair of shutout innings Wednesday in a 3-3 tie with Toronto.

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Red Sox second baseman Oscar Tejeda watches his throw to complete a double play as Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays also looks on during Wednesday’s game. The Associated Press

The game was halted after nine innings because the split-squad Blue Jays were short on players. Edwin Encarnacion’s two-run single put Toronto ahead 3-1 in the third, but shortstop Omar Vizquel’s throwing error on Juan Carlos Linares’ grounder with two outs in the fourth gave the Red Sox two runs.

Nonroster players don’t often make the 25-man roster in training camp, “but I made the (Cleveland Indians) last year as a nonroster invite, so I know it’s possible,” Germano said.

A spot starter with San Diego and Cincinnati in the past, he was converted to a relief role by the Indians.

“If you go out there and make a good impression, anybody’s got a chance,” he said.

Germano is among a large group of pitchers vying for the fifth spot in the Red Sox starting rotation or for a bullpen berth. The crowd of potential starters “is good for a person like me. I can do both,” he said. “I’ve made it clear I’m not just set on starting.”

Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine offered some hope.

“Coming out of spring training I really look for 10 starting pitchers and a whole bunch of relievers,” Valentine said. “I think he’s very usable in a starting role. I don’t know whether he’s going to be on our team breaking camp, but he could.”

Germano struggled a bit in the first inning when he gave up a leadoff single to Vizquel and hit Jose Bautista with a pitch. With runners on first and third and two outs, Colby Rasmus grounded out.

Germano set the side down in order in the second.

“He settled in in the second,” Valentine said. “Obviously (he was) better than in the first. He was up a little in the strike zone early.”

Germano said a few teams expressed an interest in him during the offseason but the Red Sox wanted to see his potential as a starter while the others were considering him “only for depth as a reliever.”

“There really was no motive to go (to another team) knowing you weren’t going to make the team. The opportunity was here, and the chance to be part of this organization, I couldn’t pass that up,” he said.

Toronto starter Brandon Morrow pitched one-hit ball for two innings.

NOTES: With John Farrell at Bradenton for the Blue Jays’ split-squad game against Pittsburgh, bench coach Don Wakamatsu managed Toronto against the Red Sox. … Josh Beckett will start today for Boston against St. Louis. … Jon Lester pitched three scoreless innings in Boston’s “B” game against Minnesota. The Red Sox won, 4-1. Lester gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. “Just trying to mix everything in,” he said. “I threw a lot of change-ups today, which was good. Any time I’m able to do that it always helps me in the future. So it was good. There were a couple of good sinkers, down and away from righties.”

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