Jose Berrios beats former team as Blue Jays blank Twins

Photo courtesy of Abbie Parr, Associated Press

 

Article courtesy of Field Level Sports

 

MINNEAPOLIS. - Jose Berrios pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings and Alejandro Kirk had a two-run single to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

 

Berrios (5-4) improved to 3-1 in five career starts against his former team, allowing four hits and five walks while striking out five. Jordan Romano struck out the side in the ninth to garner his 12th save.

 

George Springer went 2-for-3 with a double, walk and run and Bo Bichette also had two hits for Toronto, which won its first series since a three-game sweep of Atlanta on May 12-14. It was the fourth win in the last 14 games for the Blue Jays.

 

Matt Wallner went 2-for-2 with two walks for Minnesota, which saw its American League Central lead shrink to one game over the Detroit Tigers.

 

Bailey Ober (3-2) dropped his second straight start by allowing two runs on five hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out seven.

 

Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Matt Chapman walked with one out and advanced to second one out later on an infield single by Daulton Varsho. Kirk then dropped a two-out bloop single between three Twins fielders into shallow left center to drive in Chapman and Varsho.

 

The Blue Jays extended their lead to 3-0 in the eighth inning with an unearned run off reliever Jose De Leon. Springer walked with two outs and Bichette followed a jam-single to center. Springer initially stopped at second on the play but then came all the way around to score when the ball rolled past center fielder Willi Castro for an error.

 

Varsho, who had two Minnesota home runs go off his glove at the wall in a 9-7 loss on Saturday, made a leaping catch at the center field fence to rob Carlos Correa of an extra-base hit in the eighth inning.

 

Minnesota reliever Emilio Pagan, who hit Chapman with a pitch to start the seventh inning, then left with trainer Masa Abe with a left hip flexor strain.