© Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Berríos' Career-High 13-K Performance Comes at Perfect Time for Blue Jays
TORONTO — Something’s been up with José Berríos this season.
The right-hander’s been regularly torched for hard contact, and his 5.62 ERA entering Saturday hadn’t given the Blue Jays the assurances they needed after signing him to a seven-year, $131-million extension this offseason.
A quick gander at Berríos’ Baseball Savant page tells you most of what you need to know this season. The dark blue circles tell us he’s been largely a below average pitcher, but those rankings don’t tell the full story.
Berríos’ narrative this year, similar to his teammate Yusei Kikuchi’s, is a tale of hot and cold. He’s made great starts; he’s made brutal starts, but he’s never settled into the rhythm that’s given him success in years past. The 28-year-old’s last start versus the Angels was one of his worst—he allowed six runs in just 2.1 innings.
Before the game, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Berríos dealt with some “dead arm” in Los Angeles that lowered his velocity and limited the effectiveness of his pitches. Well, whatever the opposite of dead arm is (revived arm?), that’s what Berríos had in Saturday’s 12-3 win over the Twins.
A two-run homer in the first decoyed everyone into thinking he was headed for trouble, but it was no big deal. Berríos’ breaking ball was as good as it’s been all season; he struck out the side in the first, all on sliders, and got seven of his first nine outs via the punchout.
"Being so aggressive and pitching with a lot of conviction pitch-by-pitch, I think that was the main key for me today," Berríos said.
Berríos finished his afternoon with a career-high 13 strikeouts. The curveball/slider was his primary tool, generating eight whiffs on 11 swings. The bender was nasty, but so was his sinking fastball, which he painted low on the inside corner. The yin-yang of the slider-sinker played out perfectly all game.
Images from Baseball Savant.
In total, Berríos recorded 19 swings-and-misses. And to make it even more impressive, he did it all against his former team of six years, who should, in theory, know his stuff better than anyone.
There was a little more swagger in Berríos’ step as he chomped his mouthguard and trotted to the dugout after wrapping up his seventh and final inning.
With Hyun Jin Ryu down for significant time, the Blue Jays’ rotation suddenly doesn’t look as deep. Instead of viewing Ross Stripling as a temporary solution, he’s now locked in as Toronto’s fifth starter for the significant future. Toronto needs the Berríos of old to step up, and Saturday’s dazzling display was a massive stride towards him working his way back.
"It was awesome to see him come back from that start in Anaheim and pitch like that today," Montoyo said. "That was huge. Good to see."
