LDN - Sports

Berrios, Sano lift Twins past White Sox

[June 22, 2017] MINNEAPOLIS -- Jose Berrios' transition from struggling prospect to potential staff ace took another big step on Wednesday night at Target Field.

Berrios allowed two runs and four hits in eight strong innings and Miguel Sano's solo blast in the third inning gave Minnesota the lead for good in the Twins' 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

After surrendering runs in the first and third innings, Berrios settled in and was dominant over his final five innings.

"He didn't really have a lot of trouble that he had to deal with after that," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "That eighth inning was huge."

Chicago catcher Omar Narvaez led off the eighth with a single, but Berrios struck out Adam Engel and induced Allen Hanson to ground into a double play.

Berrios (7-1), who was 3-7 with an 8.02 ERA in 14 starts for Minnesota as a rookie, struck out eight and walked one.

Minnesota closer Brandon Kintzler pitched a scoreless ninth for his 19th save in 22 opportunities.

"Last year I gave a lot of credit to the hitter so this year I don't think about him," Berrios said. "I don't care who is hitting. I'm trying to think about my pitches and make them."

Trailing 2-1 heading to the bottom of the third inning, the Twins jumped on Holmberg for a trio of runs -- only one earned -- beginning with Sano's leadoff home run. Sano turned on Holmberg's 3-0 fastball sending it 414 feet into the second deck in right-center field -- his 18th homer of the season.

"You don't see right-handers go up there too often," Molitor said. "It was impressive for me in that you don't get pull happy even though it's 3-0. I think he knows that his power is anywhere."

After left fielder Robbie Grossman reached on a throwing error by shortstop Tim Anderson, Kennys Vargas singled him to third and he scored on Max Kepler's single. Vargas advanced to third and scored when Ehire Adrianza beat out a potential inning-ending double-play ball.

"(Anderson) probably should've been more aggressive coming toward the bag, but he wasn't, and that didn't give him enough time to recover, reset the ball in his hand and be able to make a better throw," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "That was big -- we needed that double play."

Holmberg (1-1) was lifted in favor of right-hander Gregory Infante with one out in the fourth and Twins second baseman Brian Dozier on first following a leadoff walk. Holmberg allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts.

Dozier advanced to second on his 10th stolen base of the season, leading Renteria to intentionally walk Sano. Grossman drew a walk to load the bases, but Vargas grounded into a double play to end the threat.

"There were times I had to make a pitch. I labored through a couple innings," Holmberg said. "I would've liked to get ahead of these guys, get some quick outs and gone a little deeper into the game."

Infante and fellow reliever Michael Ynoa combined to allow Minnesota just three hits over the final 4 2/3 innings.

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Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

"I thought our relief did a nice job to contain them and keep us within striking distance," Renteria said. "We just weren't able to get anything going after the two initial runs we scored."

The White Sox got to Berrios early on Avisail Garcia's first-inning RBI single, which drove in Allen Hanson, who led off with a walk and advanced to second on Melky Cabrera's groundout to Dozier.

Garcia added a double in the ninth to finish 2-for-4. He has hits in 16 of his last 20 games and his 51st RBI on Wednesday matches his total in 120 games last season.

The first-inning earned run was only the second that Berrios has surrendered in eight opening frames this season.

Holmberg stranded two Minnesota runners in the first two innings, but the Twins tied the score in the second when Dozier's double scored Byron Buxton.

Engel restored the short-lived Chicago lead when he led off the third inning with a double and trotted home from third on Cabrera's double-play ball.

Berrios went on to retire six of the next seven batters. Garcia reached on an error by Adrianza to start the fourth, but Berrios struck out the side to end the inning.

The 22-year-old Berrios said his mindset changed once his teammates gave him the lead.

"I tried to be more aggressive with the hitters and throw quality pitches," Berrios said.

NOTES: The Twins announced plans to play the Cleveland Indians in a two-game series in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 17 and 18, 2018, in what will serve as home games for Minnesota. The games mark the fifth time MLB regular season games will be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium but the first time in San Juan for the Twins and the Indians. ... The White Sox rested 3B Todd Frazier on Wednesday after he went 1-for-5 in the series opener. Frazier is mired in a 3-for-30 slump in his last eight games dating back to June 12. ... Rehabbing Minnesota starters Phil Hughes and Hector Santiago each saw action for Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday. The left-handed Santiago started and threw 57 pitches in three scoreless innings, allowing no hits while striking out to and walking two. Right-hander Hughes tossed one scoreless inning on 19 pitches, with one walk.

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