Credit is also due to the looser fun this team is now having, embodied by the goofy Polaroid selfie of Jhoan Duran (and only Duran) affixed to the clubhouse wall to mark the win, taken as what was meant to be a team photo on the field as part of the team’s NEW VICTORY CELEBRATION. But on Friday, the credit just went to good, old-fashioned pitching dominance.
Perhaps the biggest uncertainty amid this stretch of winning had been Paddack’s continued inconsistency to start the season, coming off a second career Tommy John surgery to join a rotation for the first time in two years.
But he was at his best as he held the Sox to two hits in six scoreless frames, capping his outing by fanning the side in the sixth to reach six strikeouts, an encouraging figure given his difficulty in generating two-strike whiffs in many of his appearances early this season. With two scoreless efforts at home in Paddack’s last three outings, he’s trending up alongside the rest of his team.
“If you’re going to win a bunch of games in a row, they’re not all going to be the same type of baseball game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But to roll out there and have one of your guys just kind of step up and go six shutout innings the way that Paddack did, it sets a tone.”