The Detroit Tigers were in the midst of an awful slump recently as they had lost 12 of 13 games. It was clear that the team needed some pitching help as the bullpen was struggling, and they lost another starter to a season-ending injury. The Tigers traded for starting pitcher Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins, and he made his debut on Wednesday. Paddack looked fantastic as he gave up just one run in six innings of work, and the Tigers won 7-2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was Detroit's fourth win in a row.
Detroit is starting to look normal again after a dreadful 1-12 stretch, and this Chris Paddack trade will look great if he continues to pitch like he did on Wednesday. After the game, he discussed what the trade experience has been like for him, and he compared the Tigers' facilities to what he saw with the Twins.
“My life got twisted upside down in a matter of 24 hours,” Paddack said, according to a post from Evan Petzold. “I've been traded before, but never at the deadline. It's going to take some getting used to. Everybody has been awesome so far. These facilities here, all the coaching staff, nutritionists, the kitchen — it's amazing what they have compared to what we had over at the Twins. I'm just trying to put my head down and contribute and win some ballgames any way I can. It was a good one to get that first one out of the
way.”
It sounds like Paddack is enjoying his time in Detroit so far, and it would be hard not to after his performance on Wednesday. He probably could've come out for the seventh inning as he was only at 84 pitches, but the Tigers had a big lead, so they let the bullpen finish things out. Paddack struck out five batters and walked none in his six innings. He gave up just three hits.
Consistency has been a bit of an issue for Detroit pitchers lately, so it will be interesting to see if Chris Paddack can keep it going during the his next couple of starts.
After sweeping the Diamondbacks, the Tigers improved to 64-46 on the year, and they are currently nine games up on the second place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. The Tigers will have Thursday off before beginning a three-game series on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Those are two of the best teams in baseball, so that will be a fun series.