Former teammates square off as Giants and Twins end series

Chris Paddack will be reunited with a former teammate and the manager who traded him away when the Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants conclude the unofficial first half of the season in Northern California on Sunday afternoon.

The clubs shared the first two games of the series.

Paddack, from Minnesota, pitched for the San Diego Padres, a rival of the Giants in the National League West, for his first three seasons from 2019 to 2021. During that time, they dueled seven times – his only appearances against San Francisco in his career – with the right-hander posting a 1-1 record and a 3.82 ERA.

His third season with the Padres coincided with left-hander Blake Snell’s first year with the club. Snell, now with the Giants, will face Paddack on Sunday.

Snell was the No. 2 guy in the Padres’ rotation this season, going 7-6 with a 4.20 ERA in 27 starts. As the fourth guy in the rotation, Paddack went 7-7 with a 5.07 ERA in 22 starts.

San Diego failed to make the playoffs that year, costing manager Jayce Tingler his job. A month after the season ended, the Padres hired Bob Melvin, and five months later, Paddack was traded to the Twins in a five-player deal that also brought Taylor Rogers to the Padres.

Melvin is now the Giants’ manager and Rogers is one of their relievers. He took a loss in Saturday’s 4-2 loss.

Paddack (5-3, 5.18 ERA) is seeking a series victory after the interleague rivals split the first two games. He has failed to add to his winning record despite facing the cellar-dwelling Oakland Athletics twice and the Chicago White Sox once in his last three games. The 28-year-old allowed 10 runs in 12 innings in those games and received a no-decision in each game.

Meanwhile, Snell (0-3, 7.85) returned from a left groin injury and threw five scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. The left-hander played no role in the decision in his first appearance since June 2.

Snell’s groin injury occurred in his third start after missing a month with a strained left adductor muscle. Some speculated during his absence that the 31-year-old was frustrated that the Giants were bringing him back so quickly, but he refuted that notion earlier this week.

“I’ve been treated really well here and really enjoyed my time here,” said Snell, who signed with the Giants on March 19. “They care a lot. They want to win, but I think they just care a lot about the players.”

Snell, a former American League player with the Tampa Bay Rays, faced the Twins six times during his career, posting a 2-2 record and a 5.97 ERA.

Snell might be in luck if Twins shortstop Carlos Correa misses a second straight game because of a bruised right heel sustained in Friday’s series opener.

Willi Castro moved over from second base, where he played on Friday, to deliver two hits as the first batter and an impeccable game as shortstop in Saturday’s win.

“He’s the real MVP of this team,” Correa said of Castro, who was named to the American League All-Star team. “He plays everywhere. If someone gets injured, he replaces them with no problem.”

“If you ask him to play second baseman, he plays great defense at second base. If you ask him to play shortstop, left fielder or center, it doesn’t matter. He plays everywhere. When you have a guy like that, he makes you so much better as a team. I think we should appreciate him a lot more than we already do. He’s a really great player.”

-Field level media