Minnesota Twins Overtake Detroit Tigers 4-2 Behind Strong Start from Jose Berrios

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — While Jose Berrios struggled through a four-start stretch that began in mid-April, the Minnesota Twins were reeling for most of that time.

His last two turns have been masterpieces, and maybe the injury-affected Twins have found a groove again.

Logan Morrison forced in the go-ahead run with a four-pitch walk in the eighth inning after striking out in his first three at-bats, propelling Berrios and the Twins to a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

Nicholas Castellanos gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead with a home run to straightaway center field in the first inning and a two-out RBI single in the third, both hits on first pitches. Berrios (5-4) then retired 15 straight batters after that to sail past the seven-inning mark he's reached in half of his 10 starts. He gave up one run on just two hits and one walk in seven innings with 10 strikeouts to beat St. Louis last week, rediscovering his sharp-breaking curveball.

Fernando Rodney closed with a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 13 tries. Rodney, whose first eight seasons of his major league career were with the Tigers, has converted eight straight saves in 10 consecutive scoreless innings.

The more relevant reunion was the return of Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire to Minnesota, where he managed the Twins for 13 seasons. This was the first game between the division rivals since Gardenhire was hired by Detroit, but the Tigers dropped their fourth straight game. They have only 13 runs in their last six games.

Gardenhire never managed Berrios, but the right-hander was a rising star in the farm system during the end of his tenure with the Twins.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

See Also: