MINNEAPOLIS _ As much as Jose Berrios' alarming outings in August raised concerns about his effectiveness, he's setting himself up to enter the postseason with momentum.
Berrios gave up a run in each of the first two innings on Monday but settled in and chewed through Chicago's batting order for the next five innings. He pitched at least seven innings for the second consecutive start for the first time since his last two outings in June. And it was more than enough as the Twins turned back the White Sox 5-3 in the first of a three-game series at Target Field.
Some Chicago batters attacked him early in the count, forcing him to switch to some off-speed pitches in those situations. By the end of the night, Berrios was pummeling the strike zone as he improved to 13-8 on the season.
Down 2-0 early, the Twins scored twice in the second to tie the game, got an RBI double by Mitch Garver in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead then Luis Arraez added a two-run single in the sixth. Reliever Tyler Duffey ran his scoreless streak to 182/3 when he got two outs in the eighth.
Berrios had a 7.57 ERA in August, raising concerns about a pattern of fading in the second half as well as worries that the most talented member of the starting rotation was not going to be at his best. What was equally troubling was that Berrios fastball, frequently in the mid-90's was 2-3 miles per hour slower.
Berrios has put those fears to rest over his last two starts, during which he given up two earned runs over 14 innings with three walks and 12 strikeouts. On Monday, his four-seam fastball averaged 94.1 mph, topping out at 95.4. The Twins have given him an extra day of rest before each of his last two starts, which might be helping as well.
But it can't be overlooked that Berrios is looking like his old self at the right time _ as the Twins lowered their magic number for clinching the AL Central division to eight while increasing their lead over Cleveland to five. The second place Indians were idle on Monday.
The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Jose Abreu's sacrifice fly. Brian McCann jumped on a first-pitch breaking ball in the second to a home run, putting Chicago ahead 2-0. They would not score again until Eloy Jimenez's 28th home run of the season in the ninth inning off of Sergio Romo.
Berrios put up the stop sign right there. He didn't give up another hit until the sixth inning, walking two and striking out four during that time. He elicited 16 swings and misses from White Sox batters, throwing as many fastballs (28) as curveballs (28).
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli sent Berrios out for the eighth inning. Berrios gave up a single and a groundout before being relieved by Tyler Duffey. It was the first time Berrios pitched in the eighth inning since June 28 at Chicago.
The announced crowd of 21,850 gave Berrios a standing ovation as he left the field, and Berrios gave a thumbs up signal as he headed for the dugout.
It wasn't clear if the signal was for the fans or a statement on how he feels about his pitching.
