Twins 3, Giants 1: Chris Paddack Dominates to Extend Win Streak to Six

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Box Score
Chris Paddack: 7 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Chris Paddack (.305), Byron Buxton (.143), Carlos Correa (.095)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

After a tepid start to the season, fortune seems to have found the Twins. Yet another uninspiring outing last Friday begat a five-game winning streak. The typical pitfalls—untimely hitting; poor defense; inconsistent relief pitching—turned, with the club appearing before us bearing a different nature than the one lamented and consternated over just a week ago. Would that success continue? We shall see. 

Minnesota wasted little time starting the game’s action. Byron Buxton locked onto one of Jordan Hicks’ signature sinkers and cracked the offering deep into the right-center gap; he dashed around the bases to showcase one of the game’s most gorgeous plays: a Buxton triple. Trevor Larnach singled him home two pitches later.

That early run was likely appreciated by Chris Paddack, who entered May 9th winless, with a 5.57 ERA stretched across 32 ⅓ innings. For whatever reason, the usually competent righty hadn’t found 2025 friendly; hitters had crushed his fastball, and the changeup that seemed to always coax critical outs more often landed safely in green grass. The world seemingly had no more room for sheriffs. 

Yet, May 9th nearly became a historic day for Paddack. He dodged a 1st-inning homer scare—Willy Adames’ deep fly ball to left appeared a homer so convincing that the umpires allowed him to jog the bases before erasing the score—and fell into a deep groove. The heater had life. Breakers nicked the zone. Every offering looked like the exact one the batter least expected. Paddack was almost impossibly good. Even the best hurlers rarely dice through major league batters with such efficiency; he sat at just 73 pitches after seven innings.

And he came awfully close to throwing a perfect game. Closer than most will ever get. That’s the funny thing about such an accomplishment: it doesn’t suddenly appear, rather, a perfect game builds over a few hours, evolving from a “man, he looks good” type of feeling, to a few “this is legitimately possible” thoughts, before concluding with anxious intensity. Paddack didn’t reach that final stage, but he did pitch until the sixth before surrendering his first base runner. And it wasn’t until the seventh that the Giants finally scored a run off him. In the end, he’ll settle for a garden-variety excellent start. I’m sure that’s still a terribly comforting feeling.

For their part, Minnesota continued to support their starter throughout the game. Carlos Correa singled home Ty France in the fourth, thanks in large part to a clever decision to dart to 2nd to coax a cutoff that otherwise may have nabbed the lethargic France. Then, Buxton added a third run the following frame by poking an RBI single into left field.

At 3-1 heading into the 8th, Paddack remained on the mound. He certainly earned the privilege. Heliot Ramos solidly stroked a single into center and LaMonte Wade Jr. flew out. That was enough. Rocco Baldelli pulled his starter, who exited the game to a heroes’ chorus of cheers and admiration. 

There remained just one problem: the bullpen. Rather, who of Minnesota's relievers would finish the game, given that Griffin Jax and Jhoan Durán had pitched on back-to-back days. Louis Varland entered first, and cleanly worked out of the eighth. The ninth coaxed... Danny Coulombe? Sure. The lefty hadn't allowed a run since perhaps the Nixon administration. And the decision worked out: Coulombe erased three San Francisco hitters with just nine pitches. Eight for strikes. The final out landed softly in Harrison Bader's glove, and it officially added a sixth win to the Twins' winning streak.

Notes:

Byron Buxton earned the 27th triple of his career, giving him the 14th-most in Twins history. He's three away from tying Joe Mauer.

Danny Coulombe extended his scoreless inning streak to 25 ⅓.

Chris Paddack reached the eighth inning for the first time since May 19th, 2024.

Byron Buxton is slashing .419/.486/.806 in May.

What’s Next?
The Twins and Giants face off again on Saturday, with Joe Ryan set to battle against Logan Webb. First pitch is at 6:15 PM.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

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[Dman]

I never thought this team would even sniff 500 after their horrible start to the season.  Maybe I've just jinxed them as they are not quite there yet, but to have nibbled their way this close seems extraordinary given the offensive limitations and the imploding pitching they tend to have.

 I don't know that they can keep this up, but kudos to them for getting back in it.  I mean I had just recently been cheering for them to lose and for players like France, Castro and  Bader to do well so they could fetch players at the deadline.  If this team can continue to pitch this well consistently they can play with anyone.

Also FWIW I never in my wildest dreams thought Paddack could go 6 no hit innings or ever go 7 innings in a game.  He just hasn't looked capable.  And yet here we are in one of the more Jekyll and Hyde starts to a season I can remember.  I give up trying to figure this team out.  Will just have to see how things play out, but I am going to try to keep some type of positive spin whether they keep winning or losing.

[LastOnePicked]

8 minutes ago, Dman said:

And yet here we are in one of the more Jekyll and Hyde starts to a season I can remember.  I give up trying to figure this team out.

Haven't the last three seasons been like this, though?

I love the winning. Let's hope it continues. But they dug themselves an early hole that gives them much less margin for error than their competition. I'm not at all certain that, even if the team rights the ship in May-June, we won't see a similar out-of-gas ending in August-September.

But that's why we play the games anyway. Let's see what happens.

[Melissa]

It’s a weird but welcome change from how the season has gone till this past week — when things get hairy I was conditioned to expecting the Twins to find a way to eke out a loss.

Now I have the feeling that they might probably find a way to win.

I like it.

[Parfigliano]

Wish the could start a season the way they start playing 25-30 games in.  

[knothole61]

Impressive win...now 2 games below .500. 

Small steps...

Rejoice guys and gals, the Twins have strong starting pitching...it's just a shame that Detroit, Cleveland, and KC are all playing out of their minds.

[Aggies7]

Suddenly the AL central is one of the best divisions in baseball 😂

[Parfigliano]

12 minutes ago, knothole61 said:

 

Impressive win...now 2 games below .500. 

Small steps...

Rejoice guys and gals, the Twins have strong starting pitching...it's just a shame that Detroit, Cleveland, and KC are all playing out of their minds.

19-20.   1 game below.

[Schmoeman5]

15 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Suddenly the AL central is one of the best divisions in baseball 😂

Ummmm. 3 teams from the Central made the post-season last year. 

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, Aggies7 said:

Suddenly the AL central is one of the best divisions in baseball 😂

Could be a mirage , lol ...

but it's been good baseball none the less , twins are playing good ball and getting back to the glorìous 500 mark , unfortunately the 3 other teams are playing just as well so unable to move up in the standings ...

It's a good start to the series against a good team ...

[Doctor Gast]

4 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Could be a mirage , lol ...

but it's been good baseball none the less , twins are playing good ball and getting back to the glorìous 500 mark , unfortunately the 3 other teams are playing just as well so unable to move up in the standings ...

It's a good start to the series against a good team ...

AL Central could have 4 teams in the playoffs if teams continue to resemble their present momentum. Twins lost a lot of close games, which seriously affected the standings. After recent changes, Twins are winning those difficult games.

Twins' pitching is in a good place, now the defense has gotten much better. Paddack pitched his best game. Love the chemistry & the fire. Twins could be better but they are winning. Go Twins!

[Peter]

Great win last night!!! Main goal is to get over .500 and they are only 1game back. Pitching match up favours twins and hopefully we can sweep giants and get over .500 stay there and back into division race!!!

[thelanges5]

Good job Paddack!

[silverslugger]

Just based on Runs Scored vs. Runs Allowed, Detroit is the real deal.  They are leading the majors.  Cleveland, as always, has a W/L record that doesn't match their RS/RA stat as they are well below the .500 mark in that category.  Somewhat surprisingly, this simple stat is a net positive for the Twins.  Once again, a stat that suggests Cleveland does more with less and Minnesota does less with more.

[Whitey333]

Nice to see some good baseball for a change.  I'm not sure how long it will last but it is fun.  It's a good thing too.  We are still 7 games behind first place Detroit .  But just think of how far behind we would be if we weren't winning.  Keep it up Twins!

[jmlease1]

Great job by Paddack, exactly what the team needed. The bullpen had been worked pretty hard recently, so it's great to have him going deep into the game and only needing 2 guys to finish off the win.

Love a Buxton triple. Most exciting play in baseball.

Twins have the pitching to compete with anyone in baseball. Hopefully the warmed up offense can keep up their end of the bargain like they have during this lovely little win streak. Team's been a little unlucky so far (3-6 in 1-run games) but they're playing very good baseball right now.

[JD-TWINS]

8 hours ago, Dman said:

I never thought this team would even sniff 500 after their horrible start to the season.  Maybe I've just jinxed them as they are not quite there yet, but to have nibbled their way this close seems extraordinary given the offensive limitations and the imploding pitching they tend to have.

 I don't know that they can keep this up, but kudos to them for getting back in it.  I mean I had just recently been cheering for them to lose and for players like France, Castro and  Bader to do well so they could fetch players at the deadline.  If this team can continue to pitch this well consistently they can play with anyone.

Also FWIW I never in my wildest dreams thought Paddack could go 6 no hit innings or ever go 7 innings in a game.  He just hasn't looked capable.  And yet here we are in one of the more Jekyll and Hyde starts to a season I can remember.  I give up trying to figure this team out.  Will just have to see how things play out, but I am going to try to keep some type of positive spin whether they keep winning or losing.

They started ‘24 at 7-13 and won 12 straight at one point. ………..23 games over .500 from mid-April to mid-August……

Lewis has done nothing to date.

Wallner has been out maybe 40% of games.

Correa did nothing until last 2 weeks.

Paddack’s got his ERA down to around 4.80 after last night. His velocity was good but I think he could have been at a more “normal” 94mph and he’d have been fine - great command & movement of the ball around the zone!! Made a middle/middle mistake to Chapman but was fantastic the rest of the game - no walks was big!

[Old Twins Cap]

Is this the first game they've won when scoring three runs or fewer?

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I’m going to resist the urge to get too excited during this winning streak, just like I resisted the urge to get too depressed during their recent cold spell.  

Just. Keep. Winning. Series.  That will get them to the promised land, and we don’t have to care what any other team is doing (except the one we’re playing on the field). 

[DJL44]

I am going to guess that is the best game Paddack has pitched in a Twins uniform.

[UK Twin]

Easily Paddack's best start as a Twin - could be his best start ever. He was on it all game after the near HR that went just foul. 

After years of people mocking how weak the AL Central has been it would incredible if 4 teams from it made the play offs. 

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

AL Central could have 4 teams in the playoffs if teams continue to resemble their present momentum. Twins lost a lot of close games, which seriously affected the standings. After recent changes, Twins are winning those difficult games.

Twins' pitching is in a good place, now the defense has gotten much better. Paddack pitched his best game. Love the chemistry & the fire. Twins could be better but they are winning. Go Twins!

And winning is good when hitting on all cylinders  ...

Pitching , defense and hitting ...

[Patzky]

8 hours ago, knothole61 said:

 

Impressive win...now 2 games below .500. 

Small steps...

Rejoice guys and gals, the Twins have strong starting pitching...it's just a shame that Detroit, Cleveland, and KC are all playing out of their minds.

Truly it's exciting to be in this division. Flyover country never gets its just coverage. Think that changed last year. I'll certainly pull for KC and Detroit! (Not them other guys though..)

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

 

They should really make these guys a deal: lead the AL in pitching and you can burn these horrific jerseys.

[Parfigliano]

17 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Truly it's exciting to be in this division. Flyover country never gets its just coverage. Think that changed last year. I'll certainly pull for KC and Detroit! (Not them other guys though..)

I'm pulling for both to start long losing streaks today.

[Patzky]

16 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

I'm pulling for both to start long losing streaks today.

There is some interdivisional play coming up after the Brewers series. Think we have Guards and Royals, Tigers also get Royals. 

[chinmusic]

1 hour ago, Old Twins Cap said:

Is this the first game they've won when scoring three runs or fewer?

Indeed it is the first time!

I liked the question, so I checked. (closest would be 4-0 over the Royals on April 9th)

The Twins pitching could propel them to higher heights. 

What a cool turnaround! What a RELIEF!!

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

Good job Paddack!

Joe still looks sick 🤢 

[stringer bell]

Twins have the sixth best team ERA in MLB, unfortunately they have the third best team ERA in the AL Central.

[bean5302]

9 hours ago, Dman said:

...I mean I had just recently been cheering for them to lose...

Sometimes I feel that way, but in truth, I always like to see the team win. I even like it when players I don't think are probably MLB rotation caliber guys (Paddack) have a great game, haha.