Berríos, Twins take series from Brewers with 7-1 win

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — José Berríos pitched one-hit ball over six scoreless innings, Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homer and the Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 on Thursday night.

Ryan Jeffers drove in a run with a single in his first major league at-bat, going 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch and catching Berríos to help the Twins improve to 7-1-1 in series this season.

Justin Smoak homered for the Brewers in the seventh off Tyler Duffey, but Cruz responded with his ninth homer and 24th and 25th RBIs of the season in the bottom of the inning for the Twins.

Jorge Polanco delivered a two-run double in a three-run eighth to finish off the Brewers, who failed for the sixth time this season to raise their record above the .500 mark.

Berríos struck out eight of the first 13 batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until Eric Sogard's one-out single in the fifth inning. The Brewers were being no-hit on Tuesday by Twins starter Kenta Maeda until Sogard's leadoff single in the ninth, a game the Twins eventually won 4-3 in 12 innings.

For the Brewers, matching season highs in runs (nine) and homers (four) on Wednesday didn't prove to be a slump-busting win. They drew just one walk against Berríos, who had nine strikeouts, and let their opponent score first for the 18th time in 23 games this year.

The Brewers, who entered the evening with the fourth-worst runs-per-game average (4.18) in baseball, have been outscored 33-4 in the first two innings. They've played eight straight contests without a run in the first or the second, and manager Craig Counsell even said before the game he implored star Christian Yelich “to do something about" the early struggles. “But that's about as much as I can do,” Counsell said.

Berríos (2-3), the two-time All-Star right-hander,...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Berr-os-Twins-take-series-from-Brewers-with-7-1-15502484.php