In the aftermath of the Toronto Blue Jays‘ Game 2 loss to the Minnesota Twins, there was one topic making its way through the players’ post-game interviews.
What did they think of the decision to remove Jose Berrios in the fourth inning?
“I hated, frankly. It’s not what cost us the game, but it’s the kind of baseball decisions that are taking away from managers and baseball at this stage of the game,” Whit Merrifield said, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Mitch Bannon.
The team opted for Yusei Kikuchi after Berrios walked the first batter of the fourth inning, pulling the right-hander after three scoreless innings in which he allowed just three hits and a walk.
“Everybody was surprised with the decision, but there are things that you cannot control,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said through team interpreter Hector Lebron. “You can ask yourself many times, but it’s not our decision. We were surprised.”
While we’ll never know how Berrios might have performed with three of the next four Twins hitters taking their hacks from the left side, the former Minnesota hurler certainly seemed to have his A stuff in the game.
“Well, I had an idea it was coming,” shortstop Bo Bichette told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. “We have all the trust in the world in Kuchi, but to see someone rolling like that, the way he was pitching, I think he deserves some trust in the biggest moments. And what happened, happened.”
Despite pitching well against the Twins in his lone start against his former club in the regular season and not having gone fewer than four innings in a start all year, the Blue Jays decided to play the matchup game before Berrios could take two trips through the lineup.
“It was confusing just because we hadn’t done that all this year. I understand that it’s a three-game series, so it was pretty much all hands on deck and I don’t know the metrics and whatnot, but Schneids liked what Kikuchi brought to who we were facing,” utility man Cavan Biggio said. “So it’s just one of those things where you have to trust that we’re putting the best guy in to succeed.”
As for what the pitcher thought of the move himself?
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Berrios said of the reasoning behind his removal from the game. “I can’t control that. I did my best [through] the first 12 batters, so it is what it is.”
Despite his performance up to that point, Berrios understood the urgency of the moment that led to the decision.
“I knew we were in an elimination game. So we had to give all we got in this game, and that’s what I did,” he said. “In that fourth inning, I started with a walk of the [lead-off] guy. We didn’t have the room to give chances, so I understand the move, so I have to deal with that.”