Paddack set for debut in Padres-Giants finale
A second straight Padres starting pitcher will be making his major league debut Sunday afternoon, while the Giants counter with a veteran trying to rebuild his career after a series of shoulder injuries in 2018.
Chris Paddack, 23, who had a great spring following a triumphant 2018 minor league return from Tommy John surgery, will start for the Padres.
The Giants will counter with 34-year-old Jeff Samardzija while looking for a second straight win and a split of the season-opening, four-game series in San Diego.
Paddack, who split the 2018 season between Class-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio, has a tough act to follow when it comes to the young Padres rotation. Through the first three games of the season, sophomores Eric Lauer and Joey Lucchesi and rookie Nick Margevicius have held the Giants to one run on 10 hits, three walks and two hit batters with 15 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.
Paddack, a native of Austin, Tex., went 3-1 this spring with a 1.76 earned run average with 24 strikeouts against three walks in 15 1/3 innings. In 37 career minor league appearances (33 starts), Paddack has a 1.82 ERA with 230 strikeouts against 20 walks in 177 2/3 innings.
Acquired in a trade from Miami in exchange for closer Fernando Rodney on June 30, 2016, Paddack had Tommy John surgery shortly after joining the Padres' organization and missed the entire 2017 season while rehabbing.
He made 17 starts last year with a 2.10 ERA and 120 strikeouts against only eight walks in 90 innings before being shut down as a precaution. He is ranked the Padres' No. 5 prospect and as high as 34th among all minor league prospects.
"All we want to see from Chris is don't change," said Padres manager Andy Green. "He is focused. He is driven. We want him to do what he's done all spring... just go be that same guy on the mound. He'll always grow, but hopefully he never changes. He's that kind of guy. If he just goes out there and is himself, he's going to have a very good major league career."
Samardzija is starting his fourth season with the Giants, but is coming off the toughest season of his career. He was 1-5 last season with a 6.25 ERA in just 10 starts covering 44 2/3 innings. He spent three different stints on the injury list after not appearing on the disabled list in any of his 10 previous major league seasons.
He spent a total of 118 days on the injured list last season.
"I feel healthy again, and that's a huge plus," Samardzija said during a strong spring training.
He has a career 69-92 record and a 4.17 ERA in 328 games (205 starts). He had made at least 32 starts in five straight seasons before being sidelined by shoulder woes last season.
Samardzija has a 8-3 career record against the Padres with a 3.64 ERA in 17 games (15 starts).
--Field Level Media
