Berrios helps Kernels blank Cougars

After facing his first real adversity as a pro in June and July, Jose Berrios continued his dominant start to August on Saturday night.

The Twins' No. 6 prospect allowed two hits and struck out seven over a career-high 7 1/3 innings to earn the win in Class A Cedar Rapids' 6-0 blanking of Kane County at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark.

"[Berrios] looked really good. He picked up his pace a little bit between pitches, which is a little easier to do with the lead the guys got him there early in the game," Kernels pitching coach Gary Lucas said. "We talked a little bit about a game plan before the game that no matter what, use more fastballs to both sides of the plate."

Berrios (7-5) faced the minimum through five innings, allowing only a leadoff walk in the second to Jeimer Candelario, who was quickly erased on a double play. He lost his no-hit bid on a one-out single in the sixth by Jose Dore.

"I really thought that [Berrios] handled it well. You're kind of still, in my mind, maybe three outs from getting really, really excited," Lucas said. "[Dore] dunked one in there on a 93 mph fastball that got in on his hands. He didn't hit it that good, it was a short hit into left field, but [Berrios] acted pretty poised and composed. The crowd gave him a nice ovation and he tipped his cap several times."

The 19-year-old right-hander gave up just a one-out single to Dan Vogelbach in the seventh, then exited after retiring the only batter he faced in the eighth to complete the longest outing of his short career.

"[Berrios] is going to be taken out of the rotation," Lucas said. "We're watching his innings now -- we have to back off -- so this was the last start for a while. He's going to miss his next start, then we'll pick him up again and limit innings. Then the other factor was the shutout, and with the six-man rotation we've got extra rest."

That final batter, Rock Shoulders, ended Berrios' night by smoking a liner off the pitcher's throwing arm that caromed to third baseman Joel Licon, who fired to first in time for the out.

"That was more than precautionary, it was scary," Lucas said. "He came out of it fine and he was going to miss his next start anyway. If he wasn't going to miss his next start, we would probably would do it as a precautionary measure."

Berrios has put up impressive numbers since the Twins drafted him 32nd overall last year out of Papa Juan XXIII High School in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Over 30 2/3 innings last season between the Gulf Coast and Appalachian leagues, he went 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA, 49 strikeouts, four walks and a .140 opponents' batting average.

On Saturday, Berrios lowered his ERA with the Kernels to 3.45 and 0.68 over 13 1/3 innings this month. The story was different in June and July, when he put up ERAs of 4.41 and 5.68, respectively.

"I think, first of all, what was causing that was the fact that location was inconsistent with his fastball, he was leaving pitches up and getting hit," Lucas said. "He looked 19 and inexperienced at times. He was a kid in high school who threw it by everyone, up and down, in and out. Now he has to learn to get out of jams and make them hit to get on."

That adversity allowed Berrios to show grit that will serve him well as he gets closer to Minnesota.

"He kept competing, kept fighting, showed a good mound presence overall and tried to work his way through some of that," Lucas said. "He's passed the test for his age in this league and he has more than held his own through some rough times."

Brian Gilbert polished off Cedar Rapids' fourth shutout of the season by getting the final five outs.

Licon led the way offensively, reaching base three times, driving in two runs and scoring one. Twins No. 9 prospect Jorge Polanco also doubled and scored a run.