MINNEAPOLIS _ The fastball had sizzle. The breaking balls were sharp. And Jose Berrios did what he wanted with them for most of Monday night.
With the way the Twins offense rolls, that's should be a winning recipe.
Except when Boston right-hander Rick Porcello is pitching like the former Cy Young winner he is. He shut down the Twins normally robust offense by doing to them what Berrios was doing to the Red Sox.
And the Red Sox scratched up runs in the first and ninth innings while Porcello and the bullpen shut down the Twins offense while handing them a 2-0 loss at Target Field.
Leading through eight, Xander Bogaerts' RBI double in the ninth off of Blake Parker added a key insurance run as they took the first of a three-game series.
A pitcher's duel broke out in a game matching the first and third best offenses in the American League. Berrios gave up a first inning run before retiring 19 consecutive batters. Porcello gave up a first-inning double to Nelson Cruz before retiring ten straight Twins. And that run ended in the fifth when C.J. Cron got an infield hit off Porcello's foot.
By the end of the seventh inning, Berrios had given up one run one four hits and no walks with eight strikeouts. Porcello had a shutout on four hits and no walks with eight strikeouts. It was quite a way to kick off a three-game series at Target Field.
Berrios added a scoreless eighth _ pumping his fist as he got Mookie Betts looking to end the inning with a runner on second. His eight innings were a season high. His 109 pitches thrown were season high. His ten strikeouts _ with the fist-pumping punchout of Betts being his last _ tied a season high.
He just needed a run from his offense, which had been no problem until Monday.
The Twins had a chance to tie the game in the seventh when C.J. Cron hit a one-out double then Miguel Sano walked with two outs. That brought up Jason Castro, who had struck out swinging at high fastballs in each of his first two plate appearances. Castro made contact this time, but flied out to left to end the inning.
Porcello exited after the seventh for Colten Brewer, who gave up a single and a walk to start the inning. Jorge Polanco, the American League's leading hitter, opted to bunt the runners to second and third. That brought up Nelson Cruz, who tapped back to Brewer, when then threw home to start a rundown that eventually ended with Schoop being tagged out.
Eddie Rosario batted with two on but bounced out to first to end the inning.
Berrios entered Monday having given up just one earned run in each of his previous two outings. His first inning didn't go very smoothly. Mookie Betts led off with a single to left then moved to third on Andrew Benintendi's single. Berrios then fell behind 2-1 to J.D. Martinez before giving up a RBI single to left on a curveball.
But Berrios adjusted quickly, getting the final two outs of the first _ then started stacking scoreless innings. Berrios attacked the plate, as 72 of his first 93 pitches (77 percent) were strikes. He could have had more efficient innings, but Boston batters fouled off 21 pitches to keep at-bats alive.
