The Minnesota Twins fell to the Atlanta Braves by a score of 12-7 in part thanks to Jose Berrios‘ rough outing on the mound.
The Minnesota Twins were looking to keep the wins rolling as they hosted Atlanta in the 2nd of a 3-game series at Target Field. Minnesota ace Jose Berrios struggled mightily in his outing today giving up a whopping nine earned-runs. It’s tough to win when you give up 12 runs. Not even a heroic effort from Nelson Cruz could keep this game close.
Twin Takeaway – The good
Nelson Cruz. Almost the only positive from tonight. Cruz blasted 2 more homers on the night giving him 32 on the season. Nelson has been truly remarkable as of late. He will need some help down the stretch as the season rolls on. Mitch Garver and Eddie Rosario did a little bit as well as they each cranked a homer of their own. It’s scary that a homer from two great players each is routine at this point for the Twins.
Zack Littell pitched well for the most part. Though he couldn’t get Stashak out of a jam, he only gave up a couple of hits and stuck out 2 in 1 2/3 innings.
Twin Takeaway – The not-so-good
Jose Berrios completely derailed from the solid track that he was on before this evenings game. Even his seven strikeouts weren’t enough to overshadow his mishaps on the mound. Jose gave up 2 long-balls and allowed four walks, struggling through his entire outing. Cody Stashak also struggled on the mound allowing three more earned run.
Entering the night, Berrios had an ERA of 2.80 which quickly climbed to 3.24 in his brief time on the mound. The pitching staff has to be much better against solid teams if the Minnesota Twins have any chance of making it to the playoffs. The showing from the Twins ace tonight simply won’t cut it.
The series will finish up tomorrow afternoon at 12:10 central with Martin Perez getting the start for the Twinkies. He will face off against Braves pitcher Max Fried. It would be great to get a series win at home against a very good team. Let’s hope the Twins can get back to the win column.