Chris Paddack walked off the mound, towards the first-base dugout, and let out a primal scream while thumping his chest with his right fist. The starter had just delivered the last pitch of his night, a 95.9 mile per hour fastball that Tyler O’Neill whiffed at.

It was the last of his six scoreless innings, the last of a bounce back effort from him that helped lead the Twins to their 11th straight win. The Twins matched the third-longest winning streak in franchise history on Friday night with a 5-2 win over the Red Sox.

It’s the first time since 2006 that the Twins have won 11 straight games and in this one, Paddack played a starring role.

It looked like it Paddack could have been in for a long night when the first two batters reached — one on a rare Carlos Correa error, the other on a double — placing a pair of runners in scoring position before he recorded an out.

But he quickly buckled down, retiring the next three batters, stranding them in place. That double to Red Sox star Rafael Devers was one of just two hits he would give up in his outing. The other was a single to Ceddanne Rafaela, who was quickly wiped off the basepaths when he was caught stealing.

The starter walked just one and struck out six in his outing, including three in his final inning of work, leaving with the Twins up a run.

They scored that run in the third inning when Edouard Julien’s slowly-hit single got past a reaching Rafaela at short and into the outfield to bring home Willi Castro.

Castro, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high nine games on Friday, helped make something happen once again in the seventh inning. He dropped down a sacrifice bunt and when catcher Reese McGuire went to throw to second, the ball sailed into the outfield, scoring a run.

That was part of a four-run inning in which the Twins pulled away. They had a bit of help from the Red Sox when a pitch clock violation was called on what became ball four to Julien, forcing in a run before catcher Ryan Jeffers delivered a bases-loaded double, helping push the game out of reach and seal up their 11th straight win.

Related Articles

Right knee puts Twins’ Byron Buxton back on injured list, Brock Stewart injured too

Twins turn season outlook around with 10-game winning streak

St. Paul Saints charge back from 5-0 deficit for 8-5 win over Louisville Bats

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton leaves game early with knee soreness

Twins rally past White Sox for 10th straight victory