Twins 6, Tigers 4: Berrios and bats foil Tigers

Jose Berrios did not have an ideal start to his day. Jeimer Candelario and Miguel Cabrera both hit singles to lead off the 1st inning. Berrios worked out of that inning with a pair of strikeouts, but in the 2nd inning Gordon Beckham hit a 2-run homer to center field. After that, though, Berrios settled in, allowing no hits over the next 4 and ²⁄₃ innings. In the 6th, he tallied 3 strikeouts. He finished his day with a line of: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO.

The Twins lineup provided more than enough offense for their ace today. They scratched together 2 runs in the first inning with Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron tallying RBIs. Byron Buxton drove in Mitch Garver with a double in the 2nd inning. Cron drove in 2 more with a rocket to left for his first Twins home run, making the score 5-2. Rosario blasted his 3rd home run of the year in the 7th inning to make it 6-2.

In relief of Jose Berrios, Trevor May got the last out in the 7th inning, but ran into trouble in the 8th. Candelario singled and Miguel Cabrera followed with a walk. Christin Stewart then drilled a double into the right field corner to score a run. Taylor Rogers was brought in to try to put out the fire. Rogers got John Hicks to strike out, but Grayson Greiner hit an infield single, scoring the Tigers’ 4th run. He then hit Dustin Pederson to load the bases with 1 out, but got Ronny Rodriguez to pop out for the 2nd out. Finally, Gordon Beckham struck out to end the turbulent 8th inning with the Twins still ahead 6-4.

Blake Parker struggled yesterday but eventually got the save. Today he entered the 9th and left with 1 out and the bases loaded. Trevor Hildenberger came in to try to save the game. Hildy threw 7 pitches, 6 strikes, 2 strikeouts to end the game in dramatic fashion.

Studs:

Jose Berrios: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO.

Trevor Hildenberger: 7 of the best pitches he’s thrown this year.

Pretty much everyone in the Twins lineup (14-35, 2 BB, 4 SO).

Duds:

John Hicks (Tigers): 0-5, 5 Ks, I know he’s a Tiger but when you strikeout that many times in big spots, I think it’s deserved.

Robot Roll Call: