TORONTO - It seemed awkward at the time, the way the Twins were determined to slide Martin Perez into the starting rotation. He piggybacked behind a starter three times before the Twins needed a fifth starter. Two of those times, he replaced a starter - Michael Pineda once at Target Field and Jake Odorizzi at Citi Field - who were pitching rather well. (Well, Odorizzi's had a no-hitter through four, was told he was out of the game only to be told to return to the game, where he blew up).
But the numbers since Perez (pictured) became a starter speak for themselves:
Jose Berrios has a 3.79 ERA.
Kyle Gibson's ERA is 2.50.
Jake Odorizzi's is 1.11.
Michael Pineda's is 8.53.
And Perez's is 1.64.
Collectively, the group has a 3.18 ERA since they shifted to a five-man rotation and distanced themselves from the first three weeks of the season, during which they had six off days (including a postponed game against the Tigers).
