KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Next stop: Yankee Stadium. Or next start, if you prefer.
That's not official, of course, since the Twins won't announce their playoff rotation for several days, and even their opponent isn't mathematically assured yet. But Jose Berrios pitched like a Game 1 starter Friday night, delivering a performance that the Twins would like to see repeated in the Bronx in one week.
The two-time All-Star lived up to that billing in his final regular season start of 2019, limiting the Royals to two runs over six innings, striking out nine, and leading the Twins to a 6-2 lead when a heavy summer rainstorm hit in the seventh inning. The game was soon called, meaning Berrios earned his 14th victory of the season _ and more importantly, the Twins earned their 100th.
It's only the second time in franchise history that the team has reached triple digits. Only the 1965 Twins, who went 102-60 en route to the World Series, recorded more wins, a record that is still within reach for the 2019 squad.
Miguel Sano singled and homered in his first career start as a leadoff hitter, and Ryan LaMarre connected for his second home run since joining the Twins this month, helping the Twins score two runs in each of the first three innings against Royals lefthander Eric Skoglund.
But the star of the night, and one of the best signs the Twins could receive about their postseason chances, came in the form of the 25-year-old righthander who achieved a milestone of his own.
Berrios, who has apparently shaken off an August slump by posting a 3.08 ERA in his last four starts, threw 88 pitches over his first five innings, and averaged 96.2 mph with his fastball. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who is using this weekend as a tuneup for the AL Division Series, may normally have removed his top starter and turned to the bullpen.
But Berrios returned to the mound for the sixth and recorded three outs on 11 pitches, finishing with a flourish: A 96-mph fastball that Meibrys Viloria couldn't catch up to, for strikeout No. 9. It was the second out of the inning that meant something to Berrios, though: A force out at second base that fulfilled one of his preseason goals: A 200-inning season.
Berrios became the fourth Twins pitcher in the last decade, joining Ervin Santana (2017), Phil Hughes (2014) and Carl Pavano (2010 and 2011) as reaching that milestone.
