NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Chris Paddack put nine Braves on base during his four-inning start on Monday, but only one of them --Ozzie Albies, who hit a first-inning solo home run onto the right-field plaza -- crossed the plate.
“I’ve still got a lot of things to clean up, but I did a lot of good things today,” Paddack said. “And one of them was leaving all the traffic on base out there. It’s something I take pride in.”
Unfortunately for Paddack and the Twins, that one run was enough. Braves All-Star Spencer Strider struck out nine Twins in his five innings, and Minnesota suffered its second shutout of the spring -- and second when facing Strider -- 3-0 at CoolToday Park.
Strider allowed only two hits, and no Twin reached second base until Brooks Lee’s leadoff double in the fifth inning. The rally fizzled, though, when Lee was thrown out at third base when Austin Martin followed with a sharp grounder to short.
Griffin Jax struck out all three batters he faced in relief of Paddack, hitting 97 miles per hour with his fastball, while lefthander Brent Headrick pitched two shutout innings before surrendering two runs in the eighth inning.
