Pitching woes continued for the Twins Friday night as the Tigers pounded out 17 hits in a 9-6 win at Target Field.
Jose Berrios scattered five hits and a walk through five innings before the wheels came off. The All-Star right-hander gave up three singles, a double and a grand slam to Ronny Rodriguez in the sixth inning as the Tigers erased a 3-0 deficit and took a 5-3 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game that Berrios will make his next start as scheduled, and there’s no talk of giving the right-hander a break.
“His raw stuff is back,” Baldelli said. “His velocity is good. His breaking ball is good, and the execution just wasn’t.”
Berrios has allowed 20 runs in 21.1 innings this month, which equates to an 8.44 ERA.
The Twins built a 3-0 lead on a stinging RBI double from Nelson Cruz in the first, followed by solo homers from Miguel Sano and Jake Cave in the second and third innings, respectively.
Sano and Cave would each finish the night with two homers. Sano is up to 25 on the season while Cave has four.
Meanwhile, most other Twins bats were swinging and missing. Tigers right-hander Drew VerHagen struck out 11 over six innings.
The Tigers scored twice on three hits against Sergio Romo in the eighth and plated two more runs on three hits against Ryne Harper in the ninth.
Minnesota’s lead in the AL Central is down to 2.5 games entering play Saturday.
Up next: Twins vs. Tigers, Saturday at 6:10 p.m.
