SEATTLE – When J.P. Crawford smacked Chris Paddack’s 104th pitch for a double on Sunday, the Twins righthander knew what that probably meant. Sure enough, someone stepped out of the dugout and began walking to the mound.
Except, to Paddack’s surprise, it was pitching coach Pete Maki to confer, not manager Rocco Baldelli to end his day.
“It’s funny. Pete was like, ‘Hey talk to me, what do you want to do here?’ I said, ‘I want to face [Jorge] Polanco],’ " Paddack recounted. “He was like, ‘I know that. What pitch are we going to go to?’ So I kind of got flustered in a good way.”
Yes, Paddack has been so effective — his ERA over his past 10 starts is 2.17 — that Baldelli and Maki trusted him to finish the inning, one that tied his career high for innings (eight) and set a new personal record for pitches (110). Paddack induced a routine ground ball with a 3-2 fastball, and walked off proud and a little sentimental about his outing, even though the Twins trailed 1-0.
“This is where I started my career. This is where I was told that I made the [Padres] in 2019 [during a spring training exhibition], and I went back and looked — I haven’t pitched here since that moment,” Paddack said. “So it’s cool to reflect on the last six years and how far I’ve come as a pitcher and a man. A lot of good memories. I’m thankful I got another opportunity to toe the rubber, especially at this beautiful ballpark.”
He shook Baldelli’s hand afterwards and thanked him for trusting him so late in the game. The feeling was mutual, the manager said.
“Paddack was just awesome. Throws eight innings, sharp ‘til the end,” Baldelli said. “It kind of reminded me — totally different types of pitchers — but the way Roy Halladay used to pitch in games I remember being a part of. You look up in the fifth inning and he’s got 58 pitches and it’s 45 strikes and it was that type of starts. That’s what a great Chris Paddack looks like.”
Paddack was in danger of getting tagged with his sixth loss of the season, as Seattle had scored the game’s only run through eight innings on Cal Raleigh’s fourth home run of the series and major league-leading 22nd of the season. The Twins tied it in the ninth but lost 2-1 in the bottom of the inning, with Paddack getting a no-decision.
