Berrios Throws 3-0 Complete-Game Shutout At Birmingham Wednesday

The 20-13 Lookouts Lead North Division Southern League By 2 1/2 Games

  • Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Jose Berrios is the Minnesota Twins' No. 4 prospect.
Jose Berrios is the Minnesota Twins' No. 4 prospect.
photo by Tim Evearitt

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A crowd of 8,500 - including about 5,000 in school classes - was in attendance for Wednesday's matinee but he partisan crowd had little to cheer as visiting Chattanooga RHP Jose Berrios threw a nine-inning complete game. The Lookouts blanked the Barons 3-0, the second consecutive shutout of the series after yesterday's 4-0 win in the second game of a double header.

Inning-by-inning game recap.

Berrios (4-1, 2.60 ERA) limited Birmingham to just two hits, both singles, in tossing the complete-game shutout. The right-hander struck out eight and allowed just two walks. 

Berrios now has three career complete games to his name, although the previous two -- both achieved last year -- only went seven frames. Coming off a May 8 start in which he tied a career high with eight innings against Jackson, the 20-year-old right-hander was able to seal the deal himself, thanks to his bread-and-butter pitch -- his fastball.

"Today, I used a lot of fastballs to both sides," Berrios said. "That helped make sure I didn't have too many pitches in the game as it went along. ... I used a lot of two-seamers, too, and that helped me get a lot of groundballs, which made for a lot of outs." 

That two-seam fastball, covered in the latest Southern League Notebook at milb.com, helped Berrios generate a season-high 12 ground ball outs compared to only two flyouts. He needed only 83 pitches to get through the first seven innings and after a ninth that featured a game-high 16 pitches -- eight of which came in a walk to Jacob May -- he completed the outing with 113 pitches, 77 for strikes.

With eight strikeouts on the afternoon -- three of which came against No. 2 White Sox prospect Tim Anderson -- Berrios moved into the Minor League lead in that category with 53 through 45 innings, ahead of Cardinals prospect Alex Reyes, who has 52 for Class A Advanced Palm Beach.

Despite being at the top, the Puerto Rico native says he remains focused on his long-term and short-term goals. "I try to stay humble in this game," he said. "But at the same time, I keep working for more and more. I'm very comfortable with what I'm doing and what I've done so far. But I'm going to keep working for more strikeouts to come.

"I want to show them I'm ready for the Majors, but right now, I'm happy to get the team a win."

All three Lookouts runs were scored off Barons starter Myles Jaye (2-2, 4.05 ERA) in the second inning. On one out, Max Kepler doubled to right-center to plate the first run, and Kepler scored in the following at bat on a second double from Adam Walker. After the second out was recorded, Heiker Meneses singled to drive in Walker. 

MLB.com's top overall prospect Byron Buxton went 0-for-3 with a walk and his ninth stolen base of the year. He has just one hit in his last 15 at bats. No. 12 overall prospect Miguel Sano doubled and walked from the cleanup spot.

Barons starter Myles Jaye pitched six innings, allowing just four hits. The right-hander struck out three and walked three. Jaye is now 2-1 in his last five starts. 

 Box

The two teams will meet again Thursday at 8:05 p.m. ET for the fifth game of the six-game series. Right-handed prospect Frankie Montas (0-0, 3.00 ERA) searches for his first win, and the Lookouts send righty Greg Peavey (2-1, 8.89 ERA) to the hill.  

Source: Milb.com

Max Kepler, who went a combined 5-for-6 in the doubleheader yesterday, was 1-for-4 today, an RBI double.
Max Kepler, who went a combined 5-for-6 in the doubleheader yesterday, was 1-for-4 today, an RBI double.
photo by Tim Evearitt
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