TORONTO – Blue Jace’s right hand Jose Berios had a dead hand in an unforgettable start last weekend in Anaheim. He certainly came back to life on Saturday afternoon at the Rogers Center.
Berios set a career-high 13 outs against his former team when the Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 12-3.
“It was nice to see how hard he throws today and I knew his hand was in shape again,” said Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo. “He was good to go. He just made a mistake, but he was also 94 or 95 (mph) all the time. “
The only hiccup for Berios (4-2) came in the first inning, when he gave Homer two runs to Jorge Polanco. Nick Gordon took the lead in the second inning with a doubling and Berios did not allow another blow in his seven innings.
“I think it was the best that Jose Berios probably presented in 2022,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldeli. “I’m not surprised to see him against us.”
In addition to regaining his usual speed, Berios – who spent parts of his first six seasons in the major leagues with Minnesota – had his slider in top form. Montoyo said the pitch was “like a Frisbee.”
“We made a plan… I did it well, so today we got a really good result,” said Berios, who gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings in his previous start.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bischet and Alejandro Kirk dominated the Blue Jays (31-21), who won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., each with three goals, while Bichette, Kirk, Santiago Espinal and Cavan Biggio joined with two goals each.
Toronto climbed the board in the first inning when Bichette no doubt struck a solo blow from Dylan Bundy (3-3) in the second inning. This was his eighth Homer of the year.
The Blue Jays took the second inning with three runs. Biggio doubled to score Kirk, who took the lead with a single and moved into second place on Gurriel’s walk.
George Springer was trapped inside, but made enough contact to allow the ball to roll down the third baseline as a shot. This brought Gurriel home and Biggio later scored when Jermaine Palacios fired a routine helicopter.
The Toronto attack continued to do so in the third, when Hernandez took the lead with a triple. Kirk followed with his fourth Homer of the year.
Bundy conceded eight strokes, five runs and a one-out walk for 2 1/3 innings.
Guerrero made a run with two runs in the foul screen from the left field in the fourth inning for his leading team 12th Homer of the season. Blue Jace made the eighth strike with three runs.
Toronto beat Minnesota 16-6. The Blue Jays have won 13 of their last 17 games, while the Twins (31-24) have lost four of five.
Right-winger Julian Merriweather and Trent Thornton are working on a frame for Toronto. The announced attendance was 36,987 and the game took three hours and one minute.
GOOD MEMORIES
Baldeli hit the first game of his career as a player at the Rogers Center in 2003. He struck a solo blow against Trevor Miller while playing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Baldeli hit safely in each of his first 11 games at Rodgers Center.
FINAL OF THE SERIES
Toronto will close its six-game home game on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Kevin Gaussman (5-3, 2.51) should start against Minnesota left-hander Devin Smeltzer (2-0, 1.50).
The Blue Jays will embark on a six-game trip next week, which will include stops in Kansas City and Detroit. The twins will return home for six games against the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay.
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This Canadian Press report was first published on June 4, 2022.
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