Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports
Berríos 'Motivated' By Return To Minnesota, Crucial Game 2 Start
José Berríos is home.
The Blue Jays righty has 67 starts at Minnesota's Target Field. It's the city where he turned from prospect to All-Star and where his second son, Diego, was born. Now, Minneapolis will play host to his first playoff start as a Blue Jay, where he'll take the ball for a must-win Wild Card Game 2.
The familiar park may bring some extra relaxation or comfort for Berríos, but, above all, the big stage stage brings motivation.
"Going to enjoy it because fans are going to enjoy it," Berríos said. "We like that. We took that like a motivation and inspire ourselves to be better out there."
Berríos has three postseason outings to his name, all with the Twins. While he has a crisp 3.75 ERA across those outings, all three contests ended in losses. Two of those losses came in previous win-or-die games. The outings may not have ended in champagne parties, but they've taught the righty how to pitch in October.
"Baseball is the same, regular season, postseason," Berríos said. "The only difference is in the postseason the games start getting more quicker, more faster. But right as you start learning how to calm down the game, like, slow down every pitch, every play, every inning."
Last year, Berríos didn't get the opportunity to put those lessons to work. In the regular season, he posted the worst campaign of his career. The slider didn't fool, the fastball got rocked, and he finished with more hits and runs allowed than any other American League pitcher.
When it came to set a playoff rotation in 2022, Berríos wasn't worthy. Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, and Ross Stripling (if things had gone to Game 3) got the nod in last year's Wild Card set. As the Mariners swept away Toronto at Rogers Centre, Berríos watched from the bullpen.
"Losing always sucks," Berríos said. "So I felt really, really bad, disappointed because we don't want to be in that position. But God is amazing, and this year he gave us another opportunity and we're here."
Berríos' 2023 turnaround was one of the few key results that lifted Toronto back to the postseason this year. He dropped his ERA by 1.58 points, pushed the homer rates down, and the strikeouts back up. He was the José Berríos the Blue Jays gave a seven-year deal to last winter.
That's the brand of Berríos the Blue Jays are confident in giving the pill in a playoff game. In his old park, against his old team, Berríos will get that chance with Toronto's 2023 season on the line.
"He deserves that. He deserves that," Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said. "Like you mentioned, him having a great year like that, why not?"
