Berríos stars, bats erupt as Blue Jays earn series sweep

ANAHEIM -- José Berríos suffered quite an injury scare Wednesday night.

He shook it off and delivered his second straight dominant start.

Berríos tossed seven innings with two hits and one run allowed to lead the Blue Jays to a 9-2 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium. The Blue Jays swept the three-game series and never trailed at any point.

The 30-year-old took a 98.2 mph comebacker from Angels second baseman Michael Stefanic off his right foot in the third inning. He recovered and got a forceout at second but limped badly after the play ended. He received an extended visit from Blue Jays manager John Schneider and trainer Jose Ministral. He repeatedly shook his foot in the air, trying to keep his weight off it.

“I was laughing because it really hurt,” Berríos said. “But I know it's part of the game, so I was waiting to give time for my foot to feel better, and that's what it did.”

He took his time trying a few throws off the mound, and ultimately elected to stay in the game.

Berríos allowed one hit the rest of the way.

“In the moment it was painful, but then I started getting out and I started feeling normal,” Berríos said. “... The ball hit me in a good spot where I could handle it and stay in the game. Right now, I feel a little bit of soreness, but not too bad.”

He walked one, struck out five and needed only 84 pitches to complete his seven innings. He induced 11 groundouts, including a pair of double plays, and allowed just one runner past second base.

His only blemish was Matt Thaiss’ solo home run in the fifth. After that, he retired seven of his final eight batters.

“I think he just really located,” Schneider said. “It's easy to kind of let your guard down after you get hit like that. He kind of got right back after it.”

It was Berrios’s second straight excellent outing after he pitched seven innings of one-run ball against Oakland in his last start.

It was also the third consecutive outing from a Toronto starter pitching seven innings with one or fewer runs allowed. Bowden Francis pitched seven innings with one run allowed in the series opener on Monday and Kevin Gausman pitched seven scoreless frames on Tuesday.

“We're pitching pretty well,” Berríos said. “The starters, the relievers. We had a pretty good series overall. Offense and pitching and defense too. It was fun to watch.”

Berríos got plenty of run support from his offense. Ernie Clement hit a two-run homer in the second inning, Daulton Varsho launched a three-run blast in the fifth and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a two-run homer in the ninth that traveled a Statcast-projected 401 feet.

Varsho and Guerrero each finished a triple shy of the cycle.

The Blue Jays scored 19 runs and hit six home runs in the three-game series.

“From game one here, I think we've hit a lot of balls hard,” Varsho said. “I think if we can keep doing that, normally good things happen.”