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Paddack shines in final tuneup start

San Diego's No. 5 prospect twirls 2 2/3 more scoreless innings
Chris Paddack made 17 combined starts between Class A Advanced and Double-A last season. (Charlie Riedel/AP)
March 25, 2019

Chris Paddack is set for his Major League debut this weekend. In Monday's dry run, he looked perfectly at home on a big league mound.Baseball's No. 34 overall prospect allowed just one hit and struck out four over 2 2/3 innings in his final spring tuneup as San Diego blanked

Chris Paddack is set for his Major League debut this weekend. In Monday's dry run, he looked perfectly at home on a big league mound.
Baseball's No. 34 overall prospect allowed just one hit and struck out four over 2 2/3 innings in his final spring tuneup as San Diego blanked Seattle, 8-0. After the game, Padres skipper Andy Green revealed Paddack will start Sunday's game against San Francisco.

Paddack got the Padres' nod at T-Mobile Park and retired the side in order in the first inning, bookending the frame with strikeouts of Mallex Smith and Jay Bruce. After fanning Edwin Encarnación to open the second, the righty walked Domingo Santana and allowed a two-out single to Ryon Healy. San Diego's No. 5 prospect rebounded to fan Tim Beckham and induced groundouts from Dee Gordon and Smith before exiting in the third.
Paddack already had made a convincing case for a big league rotation spot with his first four outings this spring, entering Monday with a 2.13 ERA, 20 strikeouts and two walks in 12 2/3 innings.
The Texas native, an eighth-round pick of the Marlins in 2015, made 17 combined starts between Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio last year, going 7-3 with a 2.10 ERA, 120 strikeouts and just eight walks in 90 innings.
In other spring action:
Brewers 10, Blue Jays 5
Bo Bichette didn't stop hitting in Dunedin, Florida. The club's No. 2 prospect went 1-for-2 with two runs scored in Toronto's penultimate tuneup before the regular season, the first of two meetings with Milwaukee in Montreal. The 21-year-old spent the past week in Minor League camp, but has batted 16-for-38 this spring, good for a .421/.476/.816 slash line. Box score
White Sox 6, D-backs 3
Top Chicago prospect Eloy Jiménez stroked an RBI single and scored on a go-ahead two-run homer by Daniel Palka. The No. 3 overall prospect finished his spring campaign with a .257/.278/.486 slash line, two long balls and six RBIs in 12 games. Box score
Dodgers 8, Angels 7
Top Los Angeles prospect Alex Verdugo tallied two doubles, an RBI and a run scored off the bench, boosting his spring average to .250. Box score