MINNEAPOLIS -- Jose Berrios sets high goals for himself. He wants to win 20 games. He wants to be an All-Star. He wants to pitch in the playoffs.

He’s well on his way to checking those boxes, and on Monday night, the young, budding ace got his shot at the defending World Series champions and their top-four lineup in the American League.

He dominated.

Berrios allowed three singles in the first inning, but shut down the Red Sox offense thereafter, with 10 strikeouts in eight spectacular innings in front of his home crowd. Despite his efforts, he was matched up against an equally dominant Rick Porcello, and the Twins couldn’t capitalize on Berrios’ gem or an eighth-inning rally in a 2-0 loss.

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“I always thought if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, so tonight, I had the chance to try to do that,” Berrios said. “We didn’t make it, but we have more opportunities to try to come through to do it.”

The 25-year-old Berrios matched his season-high in strikeouts during his longest outing of the season, outdoing his Opening Day performance against the Indians, when he also notched 10 strikeouts over 7 2/3 frames. Berrios retired 19 consecutive hitters at one point, and allowed only singles to Xander Bogaerts and Michael Chavis beyond the first inning.

Berrios was the first Twins pitcher to strike out 10 or more hitters without issuing a walk this season -- after having been the only one on the staff to do so last season, when he did it twice. He also recorded his fifth straight quality start and 12th of the season, tied for third-most in baseball.

“Jose was wonderful,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He threw the ball exceptionally well. Fastball was a weapon, breaking ball was good, like it normally is, and he had his changeup, I think, working as well. I think he had everything going. Obviously, he also was able to do it efficiently and pitch us deep into the game. It was certainly a winning effort, to say the least.”

During that first inning, Berrios saw his signature curveball tagged for three hits and a run, causing him and catcher Jason Castro to reevaluate their game plan. That wasn’t a problem.

Berrios showed off his ability to adjust effectively mid-game, instead turning to his darting fastball for several innings.

That allowed him to bring back the curveball back later in the game once he’d established his rhythm.

"When the innings passed in the game, late, in the fifth, sixth innings, then we can use more of the breaking ball,” Berrios said. “We got them. Then, they're looking for the fastball, so that's how we need to adjust with every pitch in this sport."

Berrios strode off the mound to a standing ovation from his fans after freezing Mookie Betts with his 109th pitch of the night -- fittingly, a 3-2 fastball. Though he didn’t get a win to show for his dominance, his continued emergence is certainly drawing notice and respect from the opposing dugout, too.

“He was amazing,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “How many strikeouts? Ten? We contributed a lot to his foundation back home in Puerto Rico. His stuff is amazing. I’ve seen him for a while, growing up and seeing him doing the things that he’s doing right now is very impressive. Composure. Stuff. He’s having a great year and I know he enjoys competing against us. He was great.”

The undoing of a rally

The Twins’ offense, held quiet deep into the night, immediately capitalized on Porcello’s exit, greeting Red Sox reliever Colten Brewer with a single and a walk in the eighth inning.

It unraveled from there.

With runners on first and second and none out, the Twins didn’t put any formal bunt play on with Jorge Polanco, the league’s leader in hitting and extra-base hits, up with a chance to drive in the tying run. Polanco chose to drop a bunt down the third-base line anyway, successfully sacrificing the runners to second and third and only narrowly being thrown out at first.

“I was trying to bunt for a hit, but I also wanted to move the runner,” Polanco said, through interpreter Elvis Martinez. “I ended up moving the runners. That was that.”

Baldelli supported his shortstop’s decision, but said that he would continue to discuss the situation and thought process with Polanco moving forward.

“In my opinion, he’s one of the best hitters in baseball,” Baldelli said. “So, I think you can always lean on taking your chances with him swinging the bat. But we all also trust our guys, where I’m not going to stand here and tell you I disapprove of the decision he made out on the field. In the heat of the game, he made a decision and I support him.”

Nelson Cruz followed with a soft grounder on a contact play, sending Jonathan Schoop scampering home from third. But Schoop, seeing the ball arrive at home, turned around and engaged in a rundown, causing Max Kepler, the trail runner, to move back to second base.

The end result: The tying run moved back one base -- and ultimately did not score.

“I don’t want to say they’re one-off plays, [but] they happen,” Baldelli said. “They happen, and these are the good things we get to talk about over the course of the day. Because every time we go on contact, every time we’re in a few of these situations like we were tonight, they give us good talking points. They give us pretty interesting topics to go over.”

Buxton takes swings in cage

Byron Buxton took swings in the batting cages before Monday's game, as the Twins continue to remain cautious with their center fielder as he recovers from a bruised right wrist sustained on a hit-by-pitch Friday against the Royals.

Baldelli previously said that Buxton would be available to run and field, but Buxton hasn't appeared in a game since the injury.

"Byron's a pretty competitive guy, and if we give him an inch, he's going to try to fight his way in there, even if he probably shouldn't be out there yet," Baldelli said pregame. "I think he's feeling better. I think he's doing better every day. I think it's noticeable that he's doing better, but I also think that we're going to keep an eye on him and make sure he's not trying to do too much, too fast."