Paddack turns in more zeros for Storm

The California League still hasn't solved Chris Paddack. 
The Padres' No. 21 prospect pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Lake Elsinore's 5-4 win over Rancho Cucamonga on Friday at LoanMart Field, striking out 10 while allowing two hits and a walk. Paddack has twirled 21 2/3 shutout innings this season in his first taste of the Class A Advanced level.

Gameday box score
"Tonight, we worked off the fastball command," Paddack said. "Me and [Marcus Greene Jr.] -- he called a great game behind the plate --  but for me, when your offense scores three runs in the first, that gives you self-confidence, because you can go out there and compete a little bit more just because you have a three-run lead. 
"Other than that, my fastball and my curveball was working tonight. I threw a few changeups when I needed to. But other than that, we threw every bit of 50 to 55 fastballs, if not more."
Paddack, who totaled 81 pitches, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He was dominant before the procedure, posting a 0.85 ERA over 42 1/3 Class A innings that year.
He started the season with Class A Greensboro in the Marlins organization, and went 15 innings over three starts from June 12-25 without relinquishing a hit. Traded to the Padres for veteran reliever Fernando Rodney on June 30, he surrendered just one run in his three starts for the Fort Wayne Tincaps before the season-ending surgery. 
"Leaving the Marlins, that was probably the hardest part," the 2015 eighth-rounder said. "I was really just starting to build a relationship with the coaches and players there and coming to a new organization, not knowing anybody, that was pretty hard. But the coaches and the players in Fort Wayne made me feel right at home." 
After his two-year recovery, he's settled into the hitter-friendly Cal League well, giving up 10 hits and fanning 36 in for starts for the Storm. 
"These past 21 months has definitely been the hardest thing I've had to go through in my life," Paddack said. "Being away from the family, all the negative thoughts that go through your head during rehab, but I just told myself to keep pushing and follow the Lord's footsteps and guide me in the right direction." 
After allowing a ground-rule double and a single among the first five batters he faced, the Austin, Texas, native cruised from there, striking out the side in the second and working perfect frames in the fourth and fifth. He lowered his WHIP to 0.55 and his opponents' batting average to .137, both of which would lead the league if he had enough innings to qualify.
Luis Torrens homered and doubled for the Storm, while Greene and Eguy Rosario both contributed two hits and an RBI. Each finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
No. 7 Dodgers prospectJeren Kendall and 30th-ranked Rylan Bannon each went 2-for-4, while No. 15 prospect Connor Wong laced an RBI double for the Quakes.