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A day after being selected to his first career All-Star team, Jose Berrios came out and showed why he belongs on that team. On yet another night where the offense struggled to put up runs, Berrios kept his team in the ballgame and gave the Twins a chance to win it with a rally late in the game. It is these kinds of performances that we have come to expect from Berrios, and it is why he gives so many Twins fans hope that he is the ACE of the future.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jose Berrios: 75 Game Score, 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 0 BB, Bullpen: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 K, 1 BB Lineup: 3-for-13 w/RISP, 12 LOB Top three per WPA: Jose Berrios .276, Eduardo Escobar .234, Joe Mauer .154 Download attachment: vs Royals 7-9-2018.PNG It was smooth sailing for Jose Berrios through the first two innings, where he was perfect with three punchouts. However, the Royals got to him in the third with back-to-back doubles from Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar to lead off the inning. Berrios was able to keep Escobar at second to get out of the inning with just one run allowed. Berrios ran into more trouble in the fourth, when he had second and third with nobody out after a hit-by-pitch and a double. Berrios was yet again able to work out of a jam by striking out Lucas Duda, before getting a couple of groundouts. All night the Twins were giving themselves plenty of chances to get on the scoreboard, but every time they got a runner into scoring position they failed to bring him in. That all changed, however, in the bottom of the seventh. Bobby Wilson led off the inning with a double and was then pinch-run for by Jake Cave. Joe Mauer followed that up with a single, advancing Cave to third. The Twins were able to tie it up with an RBI groundout by Eddie Rosario. After a Brian Dozier walk, the Twins took the lead on this RBI single from Eduardo Escobar. The Twins added an insurance run in the eighth inning, coming on Joe Mauer’s third single of the night. However, this run wasn’t necessary as Trevor Hildenberger and Fernando Rodney did their job, closing the door on the Twins fifth victory in a row. Postgame With Molitor Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: 7-9-2018 vs Royals.PNG AL Central Standings CLE 49-40 MIN 40-48 (-8.5) DET 40-53 (-11) CWS 30-60 (-19.5) KC 25-65 (-24.5) Next Three Games Tuesday vs KC, 7:10 PM CST – RHP Aaron Slegers vs RHP Ian Kennedy Wednesday vs KC, 12:10 PM CST – RHP Lance Lynn vs RHP Burch Smith Thursday vs TB, 7:10 PM CST – RHP Kyle Gibson vs TBD Last Three Games MIN 10, BAL 1: Twins Pick Up First Sweep of 2018 MIN 5, BAL 4: More Baltimore, Please MIN 6, BAL 2: Jake Cave Is the Hero We Deserve More From Twins Daily Real Deal: What Would It Take To Get J.T. Realmuto? 2018 Twins Midseason Top Prospect List: 16-20 Win An Autographed Baseball From New All-Star Jose Berrios! Click here to view the article