Twins 3, Giants 2: Berrios, bombs pave the way to victory

It wasn’t a Maddux -- there were runs and jams involved -- but Jose Berrios turned in a solid start in his own right, striking out eight in under six innings to help the Twins to a 3-2 victory against San Francisco.

The Giants got on the board early, with Brandon Belt homering into the Cove in the bottom of the first. A couple of innings later, a Denard Span double and a pair of walks loaded the bases for San Fran, but back-to-back strikeouts from Berrios stifled the effort.

The next inning, Kennys "Li’l Papi" Vargas smashed an absolute laser into deep center field, tying the game at a run apiece. By both exit velocity (116 mph) and distance (471 ft), it was the longest dong of the 2017 season for the Twins. It would inspire Brian Dozier to launch one of his own, a two-run shot in the fifth that made it 3-1 Minnesota.

The Giants got a run back with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fifth, and that’s where the scoring would stop for the afternoon. Tyler Duffey and Matt Belisle combined for 2.2 IP of scoreless work, and Brandon Kintzler worked a 1-2-3 ninth to give the Twins the win.

Having won the series, Nik Turley will make his major-league debut tomorrow as the Twins go for a three-game sweep of the Giants.

Studs

Brian Dozier (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI)

Kennys Vargas (1-for-3, HR)

The bullpen (3.2 IP, 0 R, 2 K)

Duds

NO DUDS! TWINS WIN!