Jose Berrios grew up with the Twins. Now he’ll try to beat them.

Fittingly, an old friend is the only thing separating the Twins from exorcising nearly 20 years worth of demons.

Jose Berrios was once upon a time a face of the franchise in Minnesota, so yes, the kid from Puerto Rico is very familiar with the 18-game playoff losing streak. He even has a playoff loss on his resume to prove it, which came on Oct. 3, 2017 when the Twins fell to the New York Yankees.

Now a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, however, Berrios will try to play spoiler against his former team. He will take the mound on Wednesday afternoon at Target Field as the Blue Jays try to stave off elimination.

“It’s an honor having this opportunity,” Berrios said. “It’s going to be fun.”

Not too much fun, though, if the Twins have anything to say about it. They would like nothing more than to rough up the former ace and move on to the American League Division Series.

Asked if he thinks being familiar with Target Field will help him, Berrios joked that his favorite part of the ballpark is that it looks like he throws 100 mph because the dugout is so close to the field. More importantly for Berrios is the fact that he has developed the ability to move on quickly when things don’t go his way.

Now flirting with 30 years old, Berrios is older and wiser, equipped with the mental capacity he often lacked with the Twins, when a misplaced pitches here or there would snowball into a bad game.

“I’ve been preparing myself every day (and) getting more stronger mentally and physically,” Berrios said. “That gave me the confidence to go out there and do my work.”

After getting selected in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft, Berrios went on to pitch 136 games for the Twins. He established himself as a household name around the Twin Cities before getting traded to the Blue Jays on July 30, 2021, in exchange for infield prospect Austin Martin and pitching prospect Simeon Woods Richardson.

It’s been a mixed bag for Berrios since being moved at the trade deadline.

He struggled with his command last season, finishing with a 5.23 earned run average, and watching helplessly from the the bullpen while the Blue Jays were eliminated by the Seattle Mariners. He has been much improved this season, finishing with a 3.65 ERA and earning the right to follow ace Kevin Gausman in the playoff pitching rotation.

Now the Blue Jays need him more than ever.

“I’m going to enjoy it,” Berrios said. “It’s going to be special also pitching against old friends.”