Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Berríos Adjusts Delivery and Dominates Tigers
In his first five starts with the Toronto Blue Jays, José Berríos flashed his best and worst.
Two starts with just one total run allowed were followed by 12 ER in his next three outings. Despite registering six strikeouts and walking none in his most recent start, the Chicago White Sox chased Berríos after just three innings.
Chicago’s early-game aggression surprised Berríos, but he planned to adjust — and his manager was confident he could.
"He's going to find a way to make an adjustment. I can tell you that much," Charlie Montoyo said after Berríos' last start. "He'll be able to do that."
On Sunday, Detroit's Akil Baddoo jumped Berríos' first pitch of the game, pulling an outside fastball bouncing into left field for an early hit. But this weekend, the offensive aggression didn’t cascade. Toronto's starter erased the baserunner with a double play and sped through the first four innings with just 47 pitches.
He finished with seven innings pitched and no earned runs, crediting a simplification of his windup and the execution of pitches. Instead of raising his hands above his head before driving to the plate, Berríos brought the glove just up to his belt.
"I didn't do a big change," Berríos said. "just simplifying my movement, my windup. But at the same time, I trusted in that process and that change."
Even Berríos’ unearned run against came on an executed pitch — a buried changeup that Detroit shortstop Harold Castro climbed down to shoot into right field. On the next pitch, Berríos ended his sixth inning with a placed running fastball to induce a casual grounder.
Berríos completed seven frames — his most as a Blue Jay — leaning on his fastballs while mixing four pitches to freeze Detroit batters. While he generated just 12 Tiger whiffs, the righty earned 24 called strikes, including 18 on heaters.
"I was pounding the zone aggressively and consistently," Berríos said, "so that's why we got a lot of called strikes. Also, they were overthinking what I was going to throw."
Like Manoah Saturday, Berríos’ effort received just enough help from the Blue Jays offense. In the fourth, Kevin Smith turned on the inside pitch from Matt Boyd, leaning back to gain full extension on his arms. He looked up at the deep fly as it left his bat, watching his first career homer fall into the Blue Jays bullpen.
Toronto continued to struggle cashing runs Sunday, going 0-for-ten with runners in scoring position and scoring on two solo shots. But with an outing like Berríos', significant offense isn't required for a win.
He walked off the mound after the seventh, greeted by hugs, high fives, and outstretched fists in the Toronto dugout. Even a 25-minute rain delay short on rain couldn't derail Berríos' Sunday masterpiece.
"He was the Berríos we expected when we made the trade," Montoyo said. "He was on the whole time, from the first pitch.”
