Minneapolis — Chris Paddack and Brooks Lee had breakfast together on Thursday. They are fishing buddies and until a couple of weeks ago they were teammates.
Things might be a little more awkward in the boat next time out.
Lee pretty much ruined Paddack’s first return to Target Field on Sunday.
It wasn’t going that great to start with, but Lee’s first career grand slam capped a six-run third inning, sending the Twins to an 8-1 romp to salvage the finale of this four-game series.
The Tigers were looking to sweep a four-game series against the Twins in Minneapolis for the first time ever. But, they still went 5-2 on this road trip and maintain a healthy 8.5-game lead over the Guardians in the Central Division.
Lee’s slam was the third homer Paddack gave up in the first three innings, as the Twins came out in full attack mode, fully exploiting Paddack’s 83% first-pitch strike rate.
Byron Buxton set the tone for that. He hit Paddack’s first pitch of the game, a fastball, for a single. Then he led off the third hitting launching a first-pitch changeup into the seats in left.
Royce Lewis homered off him in the second inning.
The Twins had four first-pitch hits off him in the first three innings.
The one saving grace for Paddack and the Tigers was that he was able stay in the fight into the sixth inning. The bullpen has been heavily used, even with fresh-armed Brenan Hanifee recalled from Toledo.
By soldiering through 5.2 innings (eight runs, nine hits), the Tigers didn’t have to burn rookie Troy Melton ahead of a three-game series against Houston that starts Monday at Comerica Park.
Little victories.
Lefty Bailey Horn got the final seven outs for the Tigers, the only smudge being a pair of walks in the eighth.
In two starts against his former team, Paddack was tagged for 12 runs and 15 hits (five home runs) in 9.2 innings.
The Tigers offered very little pushback offensively. Kerry Carpenter’s RBI single in the third was the only marker. They had three hits total and didn’t muster a base runner after the third inning.
From the sixth through the eighth, Twins relievers racked up seven straight strikeouts: three straight by Michael Tonkin in the sixth, three straight by Cole Sands in the seventh and one leading off the eighth. They struck out 12 times in the game.
This is a developing story. Come back soon to detroitnews.com for more on this game.
@cmccosky
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