Paddack honored with soaking surprise after taking rare start into 8th inning for surging Twins

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Chris Paddack had warned himself to watch his back if he ever pitched deep enough to be chosen for the postgame on-field interview, well aware of the widespread practice of soaking the unsuspecting player in some type of liquid.

When his time finally came with the Minnesota Twins, Paddack forgot his own advice.

After taking a three-hitter into the eighth inning in a 3-1 win for the Twins over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, Paddack was the natural pick for the postgame interview with Apple TV+ following the nationally streamed broadcast.

As the lanky, long-haired right-hander spoke, some of his teammates sneaked up behind him and dumped a couple of buckets of ice water over his head.

“I kind of got locked in, blacked out,” the 29-year-old Paddack said later, once he'd dried off inside the clubhouse. “It's a little chilly, but it's an honor.”

After he picked up his first win since last June 10, having allowed just one run with six strikeouts and no walks, the Twins were eager to see where Paddack can progress from here.

Acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres the day before the 2022 season opener, Paddack made five starts before being sidelined and learning he needed Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his elbow for the second time in his career. He made it back for a bullpen role in the 2023 playoffs, but last year a forearm injury kept him from pitching after the All-Star break.

Paddack had a perfect game going until a two-out single in the sixth inning by Christian Koss. The bid for his first career shutout was spoiled with a home run by Matt Chapman with two outs in the seventh.

“He should be pretty pleased with what he was able to do out there, and it gives him something to do next outing and the outing after that, too,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s as good of an outing as you could ever ask your starting pitcher to give you.”

Paddack's 7 1/3 innings were the fourth-most of his seven-year major league career, and he only needed 83 pitches to make it that far.

“The bullpen needed a break," he said. "Those guys have been busting their tail.”

The Twins (19-20) stretched their winning streak to six games, the longest since last June 12-18. The starting pitching that has been the most consistent area of the team during this frustrating start to the season has finally begun to impact winning. Twins starters have a collective 3.34 ERA, the fifth-best in the majors.

“We expect our starters to be not just good at what they do but to be an enormous strength for us this season,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to lean on them. We’re going to let them go out there and lead the way in many different ways. We’re getting those types of outings from them all the time. That’s what you want.”

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