Ryu Hyun-jin isn’t the only one back. Jose Berrios, 29, of the Toronto Blue Jays, is back in full force. He struck out Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida (30, Boston Red Sox) twice in a five-year, $90 million contract.
Berrios improved to 11-0 on the season with seven innings of five-hit, eight-strikeout ball against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday. His season ERA is 3.49.
In 32 games in 2022, Berrios went 12-7 with a 5.23 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 172 innings. His .288 batting average and 1.42 WHIP ranked near the bottom of the American League. This season, however, Berrios has been a different story.
In 178 innings, he has 168 strikeouts, a .240 batting average, and a 1.18 WHIP. He’s ninth in the American League in ERA and WHIP, sixth in strikeouts, and tied for 11th in strikeouts. All in all, they are far from the best in the American League. They don’t have a strong secondary to back up ace Kevin Gausman. But it’s a far cry from last year.
On this day, Berrios pitched a gem to snap Toronto’s four-game losing streak. He struck out Masataka Yoshida on a 95-mph sinker in the second inning, then got Justin Turner to fly out to right field with two outs in the third on a 94-mph fastball. In the fourth, he struck out Yoshida again, this time on a 96-mph sinker. In between, he was backed up by a three-run shot from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who has struggled this season.
His 95 mph fastball and mix of sinker and changeup with his signature slurve once again proved his resurgence. “We turned the page on the hump,” Berrios told MLB.com. Hopefully we can keep the streak going.” MLB.com wrote: “Berrios was at his best tonight. He’s going to be one of the engines moving Toronto forward.”메이저놀이터
This is the second season of a seven-year, $131 million extension. He has five years left on the deal after this season, so he should be the No. 2 starter behind Gaussman for the long haul. When he was acquired via trade during the 2021 season, the expectation was that he would be a one-two punch with Ryu Hyun-jin. Instead, the two battled injuries and struggles before finally coming together in the second half of the season.
Now that Ryu and Berrios are finally playing well together, Toronto is in danger of missing the postseason. They’re half a game behind the Seattle Mariners in the third wild-card spot. The end of the season is just around the corner. It would be a shame to see Berrios’ resurgence end with the team not playing fall ball.