Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Brief outing against Twins
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Blackburn (4-7) took the loss Tuesday, allowing five runs on four hits and four walks over three innings against Minnesota. He struck out three.
Blackburn tied his season high in walks Tuesday while also posting his most runs allowed since July. Because of his struggles, Blackburn was yanked at just 77 pitches and failed to make it into the fourth frame. With the regular season winding down and the A's long eliminated from the playoffs, Tuesday's start will likely be Blackburn's last of 2023. If that's the case, he'll finish his seventh MLB season with a 4.43 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP and a 104:43 K:BB across 103.2 innings.
Blackburn (4-6) took the loss Tuesday versus the Mariners, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four over five innings.
Blackburn turned in a fine outing, but the Athletics couldn't get any runs on the board until the seventh inning. This was the first time in three starts Blackburn has completed five frames. The right-hander is now at a 4.11 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 101:39 K:BB through 100.2 innings over 20 outings (19 starts) this season. Blackburn is tentatively lined up for a road start versus the Twins next week, assuming the Athletics stick to the plan for a six-man rotation for the remainder of this week.
Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Posts another short outing
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Blackburn (4-5) took the loss against Houston on Wednesday, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two batters over three innings.
Blackburn struggled to get the ball over the plate in the outing, as only 36 of his 69 pitches went for strikes. The right-hander walked three batters, with the final two coming around to score on a Yordan Alvarez three-run homer in the third frame. This was the second straight three-inning start for Blackburn, who has allowed six runs on 10 hits with a 7:6 K:BB over six innings during that time. The recent ineffectiveness has pushed his season ERA up to 4.14, which is accompanied by a 1.54 WHIP and 97:38 K:BB over 95.2 frames.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Yanked after three frames
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Blackburn did not factor in the decision Friday, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks over three innings in Oakland's win over Texas. He struck out five.
Blackburn needed 87 pitches (43 strikes) to complete three innings in the inefficient performance. It was his shortest outing since July 9 after nine straight starts in which he worked at least five frames. He posted a 5.48 ERA over his first nine starts this season but has registered a 2.52 ERA over his last nine, lowering his season mark to 3.88. Blackburn is currently projected to start in Houston next week.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Earns fourth win
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Blackburn (4-4) earned the win Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks over five innings against the Angels. He struck out four.
Blackburn walked the first two batters he faced and needed 29 pitches to get through the first inning. The right-hander settled in nicely after that, however, allowing just three more hits and a walk over the next four frames while holding the Angels to one run. Blackburn has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts, lowering his ERA to 3.81 on the season. On the downside, he's also issued multiple walks in four of his last six outings.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Yields four runs in loss
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Blackburn (3-4) allowed four runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to take the loss Sunday versus the White Sox.
Blackburn gave up four or more runs for just the third time in his last eight starts. He didn't have enough run support to come close to a win in this outing. For the season, the right-hander has a 4.15 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 86:29 K:BB through 84.2 innings over 16 appearances (15 starts). He's projected for a home start versus the Angels his next time out.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Records another quality start
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Blackburn allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters over six innings in a no-decision against Kansas City on Monday.
Blackburn exited the contest in line for his second straight win, but a late Royals rally saddled him with a no-decision. Nonetheless, the right-hander continued his late-summer surge -- over his past six outings, he's picked up four quality starts while posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 36:12 K:BB over 36 innings. The strikeouts are particularly intriguing, as Blackburn has registered a 9.2 K/9 this season after recording a paltry 6.0 K/9 over nearly 250 innings across his first five MLB campaigns. He's not the most exciting rotation piece in fantasy, but given the improved strikeout numbers and recent run of success, Blackburn is worth at least a look for managers in need of starting pitching.
Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Blanks Cards for third win
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Blackburn (3-3) picked up the win in Wednesday's 8-0 victory over the Cardinals, allowing six hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings. He struck out eight.
In his best performance of the season, Blackburn generated 33 called or swinging strikes on just 86 pitches, and he only ran into trouble in two frames -- he escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the second, then Luken Baker got thrown out at home in the seventh on a one-out double. Since getting rocked by the Red Sox in his first outing after the All-Star break, Blackburn has been sharp, posting a 2.10 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 30:11 K:BB through 30 innings over his last five starts. He'll look to keep rolling when he next takes the mound, which is likely to come at home early next week against the Royals.
Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Shaky control against Nats
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Blackburn (2-3) took the loss Friday as the A's were downed 8-2 by the Nationals, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out three.
While he wasn't hit all that hard -- only one of the hits off Blackburn, a Keibert Ruiz solo shot in the fifth inning, went for extra bases -- the veteran right-hander tossed only 60 of 103 pitches for strikes as he tied his season high in free passes. Blackburn has stumbled to a 5.19 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 31:17 K:BB in 34.2 innings over seven appearances (six starts) since the beginning of July, but he'll look to rebound in his next outing, which is likely to come next week in St. Louis.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Tosses six-inning gem Saturday
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Blackburn didn't factor into the decision in the Athletics' win over the Giants on Saturday, firing six scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and three walks. He struck out seven.
The right-hander was pulled after 105 pitches, but there was plenty to be encouraged about from what was Blackburn's second straight quality start and third consecutive in which he surrendered two runs or fewer. After a delayed beginning to the season that saw him struggle to achieve start-to-start consistency over his first month-plus, Blackburn's current stretch of impressive work has seen him pitch to a 1-0 record, 1.56 ERA and 0.5 HR/9 across his last 17.1 innings. He lines up to next take the hill on the road against the Nationals during next weekend's interleague series.
Blackburn (2-2) allowed two runs on nine hits and struck out seven without walking a batter over six innings to earn the win Saturday over the Rockies.
Blackburn matched his season high in giving up nine hits, but he was able to escape Colorado relatively unscathed. This was his second quality start of the season, and it was also the second time he's completed six frames. The right-hander trimmed his ERA to 4.83 with a 1.57 WHIP and 56:18 K:BB through 54 innings over 11 games (10 starts). He's tentatively projected for a home start versus the Giants next weekend.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Pitches well in no-decision
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Blackburn allowed a run on five hits and three walks while striking out five over 5.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Astros on Saturday.
Blackburn gave up the opening run, an Alex Bregman solo home run, in the sixth inning, but Oakland was able to take the lead back in its half of the frame. It was a good bounce-back for Blackburn after he was tagged for six runs in his previous outing. He's still walked multiple batters in three of his last four appearances and carries a 49:18 K:BB with a 5.06 ERA and 1.58 WHIP through 48 innings this season. The right-hander is tentatively lined up for a challenging road start in Colorado next weekend.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Tagged for six runs
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Blackburn (1-2) allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out three over 5.2 innings, taking the loss Monday versus the Red Sox.
Blackburn's last outing was a relief appearance versus Boston before the All-Star break. He'll be happy to put the Red Sox in the rear-view mirror, as they've posted eight runs over 6.2 innings against him in those two outings. For the season, the right-hander is at a 5.48 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 44:15 K:BB through 42.2 innings over nine appearances (eight starts). He'll look to get back on track in a tough projected home start versus the Astros over the weekend.
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Works in relief Sunday
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Blackburn (illness) was charged with a blown save in Sunday's loss to the Red Sox, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a walk over one inning of relief. He struck out one.
After being scratched from Saturday's start due to illness, Blackburn was afforded some relief work before the All-Star break and didn't fare well. The right-hander needed 39 pitches to get through his one frame, which started off on the wrong foot with a solo home run by Adam Duvall and eventually also included a game-tying Christian Arroyo RBI double. Blackburn will now have several days of rest before returning to action in his usual rotation role, and he'll be aiming to improve on the 5.73 ERA and 1.68 WHIP he's generated over the 22 innings covering his last five appearances (four starts).
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Athletics' Paul Blackburn: Scratched with illness
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Blackburn was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday against the Red Sox due to illness.
The fact that Blackburn is dealing with an illness rather than an injury means he's probably not going to miss more than one start, but he'll be down for at least one unless he's healthy enough to pitch Sunday and the A's elect to bump JP Sears. Austin Pruitt will be the first pitcher on the hill Saturday in Blackburn's absence.
