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The Minnesota Twins — who slid into the All-Star Break with a 44-50 losing record — had (perhaps rightfully) only one representative for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game: young Puerto Rican pitcher Jose Berrios . Considering Berrios pitched 6.0 innings just three days ago, it wasn’t a given he’d even pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
However, he was Minnesota’s only representative, and he was excited to be there, so he did, in fact, pitch the 5th inning for the American League team — and it was a scoreless one at that! In fact, Berrios needed only 13 pitches to retire the National League team.
Here’s what happened:
- Berrios faced Cubs catcher Willson Contreras to start the inning. He threw two balls to start the inning, before getting Contreras to ground out on the third pitch.
- Next up was the Cubs’ Javier Baez — a fellow Puerto Rican who Berrios previously said he was both excited and nervous to face. Baez took a ball on the first pitch, then swung at the next two. He took the fourth pitch for a ball, before grounding out on the fifth. Winner: Jose Berrios.
- Berrios then faced Rockies slugger Nolan Arenado, who he wisely walked on four pitches.
- The fifth and final batter Berrios faced was the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina (another catcher!), who flew out to the warning track in center on the first pitch. Not going to lie — it kinda scared me for a split second.
Here’s that Berrios had to tell the fans after his outing:
“I feel so happy right now!” #AllStarGame @JOLaMaKina pic.twitter.com/WPfWLPvheT
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 18, 2018