StaTuesday: Berrios thriving in Twins' revamped rotation
Jose Berrios has been doing this, in a very literal sense, all year.
From Game 1, when he outdueled Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians, to Game 71, an eight-inning gem against the Boston Red Sox.
Surprise ace Jake Odorizzi and even-more-surprising newcomer Martin Perez have made headlines for stabilizing the Minnesota Twins' rotation, but Berrios has continued his ascent.
Berrios racked up 10 strikeouts against Boston, just like he did against Cleveland. No walks, no extra-base hits and just one run.
He went out with a bang in the eighth inning with a runner on second and a one-run deficit, getting reigning MVP Mookie Betts looking with an electric 95 mph fastball.
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It's the eighth time in his career he's reached 10 strikeouts, already tied for ninth in Twins history.
The offense didn't give him much help -- they were shut out for just the second time this season -- but it was Berrios' fifth straight quality start.
He has a 1.85 ERA over that span, second in the American League, with a 0.94 WHIP.
| Player | Team | QS | ERA | WHIP | K | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB |
| Lucas Giolito | CWS | 4 | 1.24 | 0.76 | 36 | 11.17 | 2.17 | 5.14 |
| Jose Berrios | MIN | 5 | 1.85 | 0.94 | 34 | 9.00 | 1.59 | 5.67 |
| Charlie Morton | TB | 4 | 1.91 | 0.76 | 40 | 10.91 | 1.64 | 6.67 |
| Jake Odorizzi | MIN | 2 | 1.93 | 0.90 | 33 | 12.73 | 1.93 | 6.60 |
| Chris Sale | BOS | 4 | 2.12 | 0.79 | 47 | 12.44 | 1.32 | 9.40 |
| Kyle Gibson | MIN | 2 | 2.16 | 1.00 | 26 | 9.36 | 1.44 | 6.50 |
| Trevor Bauer | CLE | 4 | 2.39 | 1.01 | 37 | 8.84 | 2.39 | 3.70 |
| Gerrit Cole | HOU | 4 | 2.52 | 0.76 | 40 | 14.40 | 1.80 | 8.00 |
| Mike Minor | TEX | 3 | 2.61 | 1.29 | 32 | 9.29 | 3.48 | 2.67 |
*Since May 24
Berrios, however, has been dealing all season outside of a few missteps last month.
He's throwing strikes 68.6% of the time, second in the AL, and getting hitters to chase 33.6% of the time, good for fifth.
Just over half of those strikes have been looking. He's up to 37.3% after fooling Betts, third in the AL.
Berrios isn't throwing quite as many strikeouts this season -- 8.66 per nine innings, down from 9.45 a year ago -- but he's improving in other areas.
Berrios has shaved a full walk per nine innings off his game and has a 5.53 strikeouts to walks ratio, fifth in the AL and well above his career rate of 3.01 K/BB.
It's all part of a major step forward for the Twins' rotation.
The group has a combined 3.52 ERA, which trails only the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers, with a 1.15 WHIP and a 3.72 K/BB.
Berrios might not be the group's headliner so far, he's in the midst of another strong season.
Statistics via Sportradar
