Twins pitcher Chris Paddack takes to Instagram with plea to fans: ‘Keep the faith, Minnesota’

After watching the Twins’ stumbling start to the season, Chris Paddack believes he knows who the team needs to acquire to fix things.

Fans.

“I feel like we need them. We need them to show up,” Paddack said on the eve of the Twins’ second homestand of the season. “There were 35,000-40,000 on Opening Day — that’s awesome. If we can increase that number throughout the week, or just the longevity of the season, it’s just going to help us as playing, knowing that we have fans and a team behind us.”

In hopes of stirring that support, Paddack took to a megaphone that most players avoid: social media. He posted a photo of himself on Instagram, with the caption “Keep the faith, Minnesota!” It quickly became his most shared post.

“It was cool. You can keep track of the insights, the traction of the post. It got sent to a lot of people,” Paddack said. “Hopefully, it was for a good purpose, and not like ‘… What the heck is he posting this for?’ ”

So why post it?

“Just reminding fans that we’re 12 games into the season and we have 150 to go,” Paddack said. “We still believe we have the team to reach our goals.”

Twins pitchers committed three errors over the final three games in Kansas City this week, each of them on a rushed throw after fielding a batted ball. Errors by Pablo López and Griffin Jax accounted for both Royals runs in their 2-1 victory over the Twins on Tuesday. Louie Varland was able to pitch around his mistake during a scoreless inning Thursday.

“We’ve got to do better,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We have to be able to pick the ball up, make accurate throws, remain calm and field our position. … Teamwide, this is something that we have to fulfill, doing a better job of this.”

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The Twins’ nine errors as a team are the third most in the American League thus far, and the pitchers’ four — López also committed an error on Opening Day — leads the league. But first baseman Ty France said he believes it’s not a trend, just a small-sample fluke.

“We’ve had some balls hit to spots, like up the third-base line, that are tough plays for anyone — pitcher, catcher, third baseman,” France said. “And the one that [Jax] had in KC, that was purely Bobby Witt’s speed. A fast guy like that, it speeds everything up and sometimes mistakes happen.”

France said he’s still learning what to expect from each pitcher, “how athletic each guy is, how quick they get to a ball, how well they throw on the run. But I wouldn’t say this little run is anything to worry about.”

• Luke Keaschall hit his first Class AAA home run, Carson McCusker hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and the Saints used five pitchers in David Festa’s absence to beat Omaha 6-4 at CHS Field. Alex Speas struck out five in 2⅓ innings of one-hit relief.

• Twins outfielder Austin Martin was placed on the Saints’ seven-day injured list because of a right hamstring strain. Playing center field, he left Thursday’s game in the fifth inning after chasing a triple in the right-center gap. Martin was batting .419 with a double, zero homers and two RBI in 31 at-bats this year while drawing seven walks.

• Righthanded reliever Darren McCaughan cleared waivers and re-signed with the Twins on a minor league contract after he elected to become a free agent. McCaughan was designated for assignment Monday after he made three big-league relief appearances.

• New Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Friday’s game.