MINNEAPOLIS — Both Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios are talented young right-handers. Both were All-Stars last season and are the unquestioned leaders of their respective rotations.
But on a pleasant Thursday evening during a matchup of two teams expected to battle it out for AL Central supremacy, Bieber stood out as Cleveland downed the Twins, 2-0, in the first game of a four-game series between the two rivals.
Berrios was outgunned in this matchup, falling behind hitters and running his pitch count up. Remarkably, Cleveland only made Berrios pay for his erratic night once, when Francisco Lindor tore into a belt-high 95-mph fastball in the third inning and cannoned it into the seats in right for the first runs of the game. Berrios looked worse than his line — five innings, three hits, two earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts — showed.
Bieber made the 2-0 deficit the Twins faced look even bigger. His fastball command was excellent, as he was able to take advantage of a pitcher-friendly strike zone. Then his knuckle curveball forced swings and misses. The mere threat of the pitch made some Twins freeze on fastballs. Bieber faced just one batter over the minimum over the first five innings, when Luis Arraez led off the third with a sharp single to left.
Signs of trouble flashed for Berrios in the second inning, when he needed 27 pitches to get three outs. That inning included a wild pitch that allowed Franmil Reyes to advance to second and a pitch that plunked Domingo Santana on the wrist.
It caught up with Berrios in the third. He got the first two outs of the inning before giving up a single to Jose Ramirez. Lindor fouled off consecutive pitches before Berrios tried to challenge him with a fastball and lost. The 409-foot drive easily cleared the right field wall.
Berrios walked Carlos Santana before striking out Reyes to end the inning. With no fans in the stands, it was easy to hear Berrios scream at himself as he left the mound.
In two starts, the differences between the pitchers could be greater. Berrios is winless with a 7.00 ERA. In nine innings, Berrios has given up 10 hits and walked three with just seven strikeouts.
Bieber, meanwhile went eight innings, giving up three hits with no walks and 13 strikeouts. After striking out 14 on opening day, Bieber has tied the major league record for strikeouts through the first two games of a season. In 14 innings, Bieber has one walk and 27 strikeouts.
The Twins best scoring chance came in the sixth when Buxton and Kepler came through with consecutive singles to bring Josh Donaldson to the plate. Donaldson fell behind 0-2 but worked the count full before fouling off a pitch. Bieber then threw his knuckle curve and Donaldson nearly dropped to a knee while striking out. Jorge Polanco flied out to end the inning.
The Twins never had a hit after that, going nine up, nine down.
Bieber was removed from the game after eight stellar innings, and James Karinchak pitched a scoreless ninth.
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