After losing in his first start to his former team, Chris Paddack was looking for a little bit of payback when he came to Target Field with his new team the Detroit Tigers.
Instead, the Twins jumped him.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Chris Paddack, foreground, stands on the field as Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton, back left, runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
“I’m glad I don’t have to face them again (this season),” Paddack said.
Maybe it eased the sting a little that the big blow Sunday came from one of his best friends on the Twins, Brooks Lee.
Or maybe not.
The shortstop capped a six-run third inning with his first career grand slam and it was smooth sailing from there in the Twins’ 8-1 victory in front of 22,230 at Target Field.
“I know Brooks is going to send me a text in the next 15-20 minutes,” Paddack said.
Sometimes it helps a lineup to face an old teammate they have watched many times. Sometimes it doesn’t. But Lee, who had breakfast with Paddack on Saturday, said he suspected Paddack would be trying to establish his fastball. But, he added, “You never know if someone is going to flip the script. I just hunted my pitch and got one.”
When Lee got a 93 mph four-seamer, he hit it into the home run porch in right for his first major league grand slam and an 7-1 lead. Minnesota tacked on one more run in the fourth to cap the scoring for the game. The win staved off a four-game sweep by the American League Central Division leaders.
Byron Buxton went 3 for 5 with a solo home run, and Royce Lewis gave the Twins a 1-0 lead with a solo shot in the second inning. Every Twins player had either a hit, a walk, or an RBI.
When it was all over, Paddack had been charged with 8 earned runs on nine hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Traded on July 28 for Class A catching prospect Enrique Jimenez, Paddack (4-11) has made four starts for the Tigers, his only two losses coming against the Twins.
When Paddack fanned Lee on a changeup for the first out in the fifth, the two shared a glance.
“I looked right at him and I started laughing,” Lee said. “It was 1-nothing me, so I was like, whatever — he got me, too. And I think that’s his best pitch, too. He made some good pitches to me in that next at-bat. Good for him.”
Lee said Paddack has invited him to Texas for a fishing trip after the season.
“Maybe I’ll get out there in the offseason, to Texas,” Lee said. “He really wants me to go. But maybe not so much right now.”
Meanwhile, spot starter Thomas Hatch (2-0) was effective again in a pinch. Since being claimed off waivers from Kansas City on Aug. 4, the right-hander has made three appearances for the Twins, two in long relief and, on Sunday, his first major league start since 2023.
“I’ve been impressed with him,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s hard not to be. He mixes well. Again, keeps them off balance really nicely. It’s called pitching, you know — it’s not all about throwing 100 miles an hour all the time. He has a good mix.”
Twins outfielder James Outman — acquired in the deal that sent Brock Stewart to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31 — had his first hit for the Twins, a one-out, stand-up triple in the sixth inning, but was stranded on third.
Originally Published: August 17, 2025 at 3:45 PM CDT