Game 99: Angels at Twins

First Pitch: 6:10 pm CDT

TV: Bally Sports North

Radio: WCCO 830 / The Wolf 102.9 FM / TIBN

Count me among those who think Jose Berrios will still be around by this time next weekend. Still, with the way his start tonight lines up relative to the trading deadline, I can see why you might want to pay closer attention to La Maquina’s outing this evening.

This will be the 136th career start for Berrios, all of them with the Twins. After some growing pains in his first season, the guy has put together a 115 ERA+, almost 600 strikeouts, and two All-Star appearances. Regardless of who the team has managed to put around him in the rotation, he’s been one of the most dependable pitching developments this franchise has had in years.

But maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves! After all, this is just a start like any other, and despite some analysts matching up the Twins’ pieces with the New York Mets’ needs, there has yet to be any significant headway as far as Berrios rumors are concerned. Maybe that holds true for the next week, maybe it doesn’t. All we know now is that the dam has broken, and we’ve been reminded to appreciate who we have while they’re still around.

And while he’s still around, let’s appreciate tonight’s opponent, Patrick Sandoval. Where’s he going? Oh, I don’t know. He might be around for a while. I just thought we should appreciate him, too. He’s the Los Angeles starter. Third season for him, he’s 24. He had a rocky career start like Berrios did (5.33 ERA through his first 76 innings) but is one of LA’s better starters in 2021. Looks like he’s never faced the Twins. Welcome to the party.

GO TWINS GO!