On Tuesday, one week before the Twins likely host a playoff game at Target Field, they welcomed two relievers who could play a role in the postseason: Chris Paddack and Brock Stewart.
Paddack, 16 months after he underwent Tommy John surgery, pitched two innings in his season debut. It was full of ups and downs, allowing four hits and three runs while recording four strikeouts. Stewart, back from a three-month stint on the injured list, pitched a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts in an 11-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Stewart, who has given up two runs in 26 ⅔ innings this year, is the more proven option and someone who could slot into the back end of the Twins’ bullpen if he looks like he did in the first half of the season. Stewart pitched around a leadoff single, hitting 98 mph with his fastball while recording a strikeout with a cutter and a slider.
Paddack took the mound to Eminem’s “Square Dance” as the lyrics, “It feels so good to be back” roared from the stadium’s speakers. It had been 506 days since he last pitched in a major league game, blowing out his elbow on Mother’s Day 2022, and perhaps fittingly he was facing the same opponent.
He surrendered a single to right field on his first pitch, then struck out the next three batters. Eseury Ruiz whiffed on a changeup. Ryan Noda swung under an elevated 97-mph fastball. Paddack finished the inning by striking out Zack Gelof with a 98-mph fastball to end a seven-pitch at-bat.
Paddack yelled a couple of times as he walked off the mound after he completed his first inning. He told Twins officials in January not to rule him out from pitching this season. He wanted something to target during his 16-month recovery. A chunk of the Target Field crowd gave him a standing ovation.
The second inning wasn’t as sharp for Paddack. The first four batters reached base, which included a two-run homer to Seth Brown on a first-pitch changeup, and an RBI double to Jordan Diaz on a ball hit down the right field line.
After Twins pitching coach Pete Maki made a mound visit, Paddack retired his final three batters with one strikeout. Paddack has one week to earn a spot on the postseason roster. His fastball topped out at 99 mph, up from averaging 93 mph with the pitch last year.
There have been a lot of developments with the Twins’ bullpen over the past few weeks. Most teams are trying to survive with enough pitching at this point in the season. The Twins keep adding arms. Louie Varland emerged as a weapon. Kenta Maeda is expected to appear as a reliever within the next few days, too.
The Twins took a 5-0 lead when A’s starter Paul Blackburn labored through a 43-pitch first inning. Among the first seven batters, the Twins drew three walks and put only two balls in play. One of the balls in play was a down-the-middle sinker in a 3-1 count that Matt Wallner crushed out of play for his second career grand slam.
Wallner’s two-out grand slam, which followed three consecutive walks, landed more than 10 rows up in the second deck of center field. The ball traveled an estimated 463 feet for the longest homer of his career.
Oakland opted to intentionally walk Wallner with two runners on base, two outs and first base open in the seventh inning. Christian Vázquez responded with a three-run triple in the right-center gap.
That was more than enough run support with the way Bailey Ober was pitching. He tossed five scoreless innings and struck out eight batters without issuing a walk. Oakland hitters offered 23 swings at Ober’s changeup and whiffed 11 times.
Ober permitted only two singles to the 16 batters he faced, which included an infield single to first base. He was in such control he struck out seven in a nine-batter stretch.