 finished seven smooth innings with seven hits and two runs allowed to push the Twins to their first season series victory over the Astros since 2013. Berrios is 4-0 in four starts at home this year.With 52 home runs in 29 games, the Twins have powered their way to or near the top of the league in several hitting categories with one of the most balanced lineups in the majors.Sure enough, even Castro, the defense-oriented catcher who came over from the Astros in 2017, started the third with a solo shot. Castro has three homers in his past five games.Alex Bregman gave the Astros a first-inning lead with his home run off Berrios, but the right-hander retired 12 straight batters at one point and sailed behind the big lead.The Astros, who entered the game tied for 21st in the majors with a .232 batting average with runners in scoring position, went 1 for 7.The Twins had no such trouble, sending 10 men to the plate in the decisive fourth with a two-run double by Castro and an RBI triple by Byron Buxton doing the most damage.Buxton had another stellar game in the field, too, with a running catch to snag Josh Reddick's sinking liner in the second and a flying grab in front of the wall in right-center to rob Yuli Gurriel in the fourth.Peacock (2-2) allowed eight hits, seven runs and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.IT'S GONEMarwin Gonzalez scored twice for the Twins with a double, a single and a walk to finally break through against his former team. Prior to the game, the third baseman was 0 for 18 with six strikeouts against the Astros.TRAINER'S ROOMAstros: Bregman played SS for just the second time this season, giving Carlos Correa a rest while Aledmys Diaz played 3B.Twins: LHP Adalberto Mejia, who has an 8.74 ERA in 11 relief appearances, was placed on the injured list with a strained right calf. RHP Mike Morin, who has 186 major league appearances over the past five years, was promoted from Triple-A Rochester and added to the 40-man roster.UP NEXTAstros: After a rare day off on Friday, LHP Wade Miley (1-2, 3.24 ERA) pitches on Saturday night to start a two-game series in Monterrey, Mexico, against Los Angeles. RHP Trevor Cahill (1-2, 5.93 ERA) takes the mound for the Angels. Miley has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his six starts.Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson (2-0, 4.88 ERA) takes his turn on Friday night to start a three-game series in New York against the Yankees, who send LHP James Paxton (3-2, 3.38 ERA) to the mound. Gibson is 1-5 with a 6.86 ERA in eight starts against the Yankees. Since 2002, including the postseason, the Twins are 14-50 on the road against the Yankees.---More baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Berrios, Twins seek series win over Astros After losing two out of three in Houston last week, the Minnesota Twins have a chance to win the return series on Thursday afternoon at Target Field in Minneapolis.The Twins, behind eight shutout innings from Martin Perez and a tape-measure home run by Jonathan Schoop, won their second game of the four-game series on Wednesday night, 6-2, bouncing back from an ugly 11-0 loss on Tuesday.Minnesota won the series opener 1-0 on Monday as Jake Odorizzi outdueled Justin Verlander.Jose Berrios (4-1, 2.97 ERA), who is 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA in three starts at Target Field this season, takes the mound for the Twins on Thursday. He will be opposed by Brad Peacock (2-1, 3.67).Berrios has won three consecutive starts since losing 2-1 at Philadelphia on April 7. He has struck out 25 batters and walked two in 20 1/3 innings in his three home starts while holding opponents to a .176 batting average.Berrios, who didn't face the Astros last week in Houston, is 1-3 with an 8.36 ERA in four career starts against the Astros. He comes in off a 9-2 home win over Baltimore on Saturday during which he gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings while striking out eight.Berrios, who felt the Orioles were sitting on his curveball during a 6-5 win in Camden Yards seven days earlier that saw him allow three home runs, decided to use his changeup to set up his fastball in the rematch."(The changeup is) what we've been working real hard on this past offseason, during spring training," Berrios told MLB.com. "We're still working on it. I feel really proud and happy when I go out there during the game and throw it. I've seen really good results with my changeup, so I feel great. The only thing I have to do is keep working on that and trying to be more consistent." Peacock is 0-3 with a 4.32 ERA in eight career games (four starts) against Minnesota, including 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA in four games (two starts) at Target Field. He was charged with the loss in Houston's 9-5 defeat to the Twins on April 22 at Minute Maid Park, allowing three runs on six hits in five innings, including a solo home run to Jason Castro.After the Thursday afternoon contest, the Astros will fly to Monterrey, Mexico, where they will play a two-game series with the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday and Sunday at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey, home of the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League.The Astros will be able to add a 26th man to their roster for the two games, but it must be a position player."Originally, I was really hoping to add a pitcher because we're only carrying 12, and the ideal thing would be to add the extra pitcher," Astros manager A. J. Hinch said. "MLB has let us know it's against the rules. You're only allowed to add a position player, which I don't really understand why. That's the rules, and we'll play by it. We'll see." Among the top candidates to make the trip are outfielders Derek Fisher, Kyle Tucker and Myles Straw plus catcher Garrett Stubbs, all of whom are playing at Triple-A Round Rock.--Field Level Media
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