MIN 3, TOR 0: Berrios Hurls Gem, Twins Get Second Straight Shutout

Box Score

Berrios: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 70.6% strikes (65 of 92 pitches)

Home Runs: Mitch Garver (7)

Multi-Hit Games: Kepler (2-5, 2B), Garver (3-3, HR)

WPA of +0.1: Berrios .418, Garver .235

WPA of -0.1: Cruz -.168, Schoop -.114

(Chart via FanGraphs)

After a couple of starts in a row where Jose Berrios struggled to command his curveball, he seemed to rediscover his feel for the pitch tonight as he picked up four of his five strikeouts with that pitch. Overall, Blue Jays hitters combined for a 32% whiff rate, and were 1-for-13 against Berrios’ curveball. Berrios' start marked the eighteenth consecutive game where the Twins starting pitcher managed to go at least five innings.

The Twins got off to an early lead, when they used two singles and two walks to push a run across in the first, but they failed to take advantage of what could have been a much bigger inning. There wasn’t much action again until the sixth inning, when Eddie Rosario led off the inning with a much needed bloop single, followed by a Mitch Garver blast to the upper deck in left field to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1125924390133272577

The game did get a little interesting in the bottom of the ninth when the Blue Jays got runners on the corners with two outs, bringing the tying run in Billy McKinney to the plate. However, Taylor Rogers was able to get him to ground out to first baseman Marwin Gonzales, and secure his fourth save of the season.

During the third inning, the Fox Sports North broadcast has Twins General Manager Thad Levine on to talk about things ranging from Miguel Sano’s comeback, to Nelson Cruz’s leadership, to the success of the Twins starting rotation so far this year. Here is a little tidbit of that conversation.

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1125911973147729920

Postgame with Baldelli

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1125945970426925056

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

Next Three Games

Wed at TOR, 6:07 pm CT (Gibson-Thornton)

Fri vs DET, 7:10 pm CT (TBD-Ross)

Sat vs DET, 1:10 pm CT (TBD-TBD)

Last Game

MIN 8, TOR 0: Perez Impresses, Bats Bounce Stroman Early