MINNEAPOLIS _ For the third time in four days, the Twins offense fell flat, with only two Minnesota runners crossing home plate all day.
But they've found a way to make their slump work. The secret: Put Jose Berrios on the mound.
Berrios made the Twins' two runs feel like 12, so dominant was he on Sunday, shutting out the Rangers on three hits while striking out a career-high 12. The result was a 2-0 victory over his former teammate and quasi-mentor, Bartolo Colon, and an end to the Twins' three-game losing streak.
The timing couldn't be better, because the Twins now embark on a nine-game road trip to Chicago and Milwaukee, with their pennant-race hopes gradually becoming more remote. Cleveland finished off its sweep of Detroit on Sunday, hasn't lost in more than a week and maintained its eight-game stranglehold over Minnesota in what's left of an AL Central race.
Robbie Grossman doubled in the fourth inning, waited there for a couple of outs, then dashed home on Bobby Wilson's broken-bat single to left, giving Berrios all the cushion he would need. Grossman added to it an inning later, though, singling home Eddie Rosario.
Berrios was stellar, at least after his first pitch. Shin-Soo Choo smacked that one off the center-field wall, missing a home run by a few feet. But when Adrian Beltre grounded a single to left with two outs, Choo slowed around third base and stayed there. The baserunning gaffe kept Texas off the board, and Berrios _ along with relievers Trevor Hildenberger and Fernando Rodney, who retired all six hitters they faced _ never allowed another Ranger to advance past first base.
Berrios, who has a 1.27 ERA over his last four starts, won his eighth game, and Rodney extended his save streak to 15 in a row.
