Nick

Blackburn

Fortunately, those are all of the runs he allowed. Blackburn is the first pitcher to give up four homers and win since the Tigers’ Matthew Boyd on Aug. 31, 2019. He’s the first A’s pitcher to do it since Mike Warren on Apr. 26, 1984. He’s actually just the third A’s pitcher this year to give up four runs of any sort and win (Frankie Montas on June 11 and Adam Oller on July 25).

Altcheck examined Blackburn last month, when the right-hander was diagnosed with a strained right forearm. The good news is that Blackburn is expected to only need rest, as the injury is on the top of the forearm, not the side near the elbow ligaments.

Blackburn will be in a splint for six weeks, but may need a couple more weeks before resuming workouts. However, he is expected to be ready for spring training. The 29-year-old right-hander remains under contract for $4.75 million next season and $5.5 million in 2013.

Blackburn struck out two and walked one in the game. The Rex Sox strung together five hits to score three times in the first inning, then David Ortiz struck for a mammoth two-run blast in the third. Blackburn’s ERA now sits at 7.53, though his rotation spot may be safe for the time being due to injuries and Francisco Liriano also struggling. Still, it would behoove Blackburn to start pitching better his next time out against the Angels.

He walked three and struck out three in the game. Thanks to the strong offensive support and quality work from the bullpen, Blackburn was able to pick up the victory in this one and improved to 1-4 on the season. His ERA now sits at 7.18 and he has to be in serious jeopardy of losing his spot in the rotation. Barring any changes, he’ll get his shot at redemption when he faces the Tigers in Detroit on Wednesday.

Blackburn was really a whole lot better than the 7.50 ERA suggests. Unfortunately, the five hits he allowed were all bunched today. Three of them came consecutively in the two-run first inning. The other two immediately followed a leadoff walk in the three-run seventh. Blackburn ended the day with 14 groundball outs and a 1.17 WHIP. If only he could have spaced out those hits...

The right-hander left his last outing with stiffness in his shoulder, but evidently he’s good to go now, as Gardy said Blackburn “doesn’t feel a thing” anymore. Anthony Swarzak will move back into a long relief role.

Blackburn now has a 6.84 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and an 0-4 record. There are no signs that his shoulder is acting up again, but getting lit up in Safeco is never a good sign. A home start against the Blue Jays on Friday shouldn’t appeal to fantasy owners.

Blackburn left Saturday’s start in the sixth inning with right shoulder stiffness, but will be able to avoid a DL-stint and hasn’t been ruled out for his next turn in the rotation. The Twins have officially listed him as day-to-day.

Blackburn allowed two runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings before exiting. Brian Duensing came on in relief and is a candidate to replace him in the rotation if he requires a DL-stint. Anthony Swarzak is also an option to stick around. Stay tuned for an update on his status.