Jose Berrios made it appear as if a trampoline were underneath the mound.
Every inning he ended with a strikeout — there were four of them — the pitcher sprung himself into the air, usually accompanied by a fist pump or shout. It seemed sometimes that he was midair before catcher Ben Rortvedt had even closed his glove around the ball. That's how sure Berrios was of his arm.
In a season in which reliable starting pitchers are scarce for the Twins, Berrios has emerged as the guiding light, and his steady hand led the team to a 5-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday in front of 18,767 Target Field fans.
"Some games, we've had a tough game, and we had to battle all day long," Berrios said of his exuberance. "But [Saturday], we are pitching well, and I just enjoyed my moment."
Berrios held Houston scoreless through six innings, allowing just three hits. And while his outing wasn't perfect — he made a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and a couple of his called strikes were a bit generous — his enthusiasm was needed for the 26-38 Twins.
That spread to rookie catcher Rortvedt, who gushed about how many Houston batters Berrios caught looking.
"We were rolling," Rortvedt said. "... I don't think I got shook off a lot. He had a lot of confidence in me, and I love that. He threw everything with conviction. It was a lot of fun."
Berrios did falter in his seventh and final inning, giving up back-to-back home runs on early counts to Kyle Tucker and Robel Garcia. Even though the Astros had been extending at-bats all game, Berrios said he knew they would come out more aggressive when trailing 4-0. His changeup to Tucker he chalked up to a good swing, but on the second homer he didn't quite throw his fastball in enough.
