Former Minnesota Twins pitcher Jose Berríos had a dominant homecoming as he used a strong start to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-0 win over the Twins on Sunday afternoon.
Berríos spent just over five seasons with the Twins to begin his career but made just one start at Target Field since being traded to the Blue Jays midway through the 2021 season.
On Sunday, Target Field felt just like home for the right-hander, who struck out seven batters over 5.2 shutout innings. While Berríos was able to keep the Twins off the board, he also had some unexpected help working around four hits and five walks.
Eduoard Julien had a tough afternoon, running into an out on the basepaths to negate a bases-loaded situation in the first inning and then making an error in the top of the second that led to a two-run single by Alejandro Kirk.
Kirk’s single of the lone blemish of the day for Bailey Ober, who allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven batters in five innings. But the Twins couldn’t get anything going at the plate and put themselves in a deeper hole in the eighth inning when Willi Castro misplayed a Bo Bichette single in center field, allowing the Jays to take a 3-0 lead.
Although Matt Wallner collected a pair of hits, the Twins struck out 14 times and lost reliever Emilio Pagán to a hip flexor in the seventh inning to drop the finale and a weekend series to the Blue Jays.
The Twins are now 27-26 on the season and will travel to Houston to open a three-game series with the Astros on Monday afternoon. Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.82 ERA) will start Monday’s opener against Houston right-hander J.P. France (1-1, 3.43 ERA).
