Jose Berrios admitted the way the Toronto Blue Jays season was evolving had him down in the dumps. But a midseason pep talk with family turned around his year.
Berrios (16-9) won his seventh straight start, allowing only two hits and a run over seven innings in the Blue Jays 7-2 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
“I talked with my family, my father, my brother,” Berrios said. “I wanted to be a leader on this team.”
The win streak is the third longest in Blue Jays’ history behind Roy Halladay’s 11 straight in 2003 and Roger Clemens’ eight in a row in 1997.
Berrios, who walked two and struck out four, agreed that having an extra day of rest in six of his last eight starts has helped his late-season surge. Toronto manager John Schneider has another view.
“I think he has a really good ability to …