Blackburn polishes all-star resume, but A’s lose in gut-wrenching fashion
Paul Blackburn might soon be selected to play in his first All-Star Game but that was hardly his focus Saturday after another gut-wrenching A’s loss.
Blackburn was again solid but the A’s couldn’t score after the first inning and their bullpen couldn’t protect a one-run lead in what became a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
A’s closer Lou Trivino didn’t record an out in the ninth inning, as the Mariners loaded the bases before Abraham Toro singled to bring home pinch-runner Marcus Wilson from third base for the winning run.
That came after A.J. Puk allowed a solo home run to pinch hitter Justin Upton in the bottom of the eighth, as the Mariners tied the game and hung another no-decision on Blackburn, who was taken out by A’s bench coach Brad Ausmus after throwing just 87 pitches.
Blackburn allowed four hits and had five strikeouts as he lowered his season ERA to 2.90, continuing to make his case to be the A’s representative at the MLB All-Star Game on July 19 at Dodger Stadium.
Blackburn (6-3) will make one more start, likely Friday at home against Houston, before all-star rosters are announced July 10.
Right now, though, all Blackburn wants are a few more wins, as he’s been saddled with no decisions in three of his last five starts.
“I don’t sit there and think about it. There’s no reason to, I have no say in what happens,” Blackburn said of the game in Los Angeles. “Just stay present with where I am and if that happens, I’ll be grateful for it.”
Puk, with three blown saves this season, has now allowed at last one earned run in four of his last six appearances. Trivino had not allowed a run in any of his last five appearances before Saturday.
The A’s are now 1-5 this season when the game is tied after eight innings.
“I thought A.J. threw the ball great, and it wasn’t a bad pitch,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Justin put a good swing on a ball at the bottom of the zone.”
Kotsay was ejected by home plate umpire Chris Segal in the bottom of the sixth inning.
With Julio Rodriguez hitting, Segal called a Blackburn cutter that appeared to catch the bottom of the strike zone a ball, just after Segal had rung up Seth Brown in the top of the sixth on a George Kirby slider that may have been just below the zone.
Kotsay let his opinion of the calls be known and was thrown out.
“I just didn’t feel as if we were getting maybe the same zone and overly expressed that,” Kotsay said. “Paul executed a great pitch. Seth had gotten rung up the previous pitch and for me, it was the same pitch. I kind of expressed that and (Segal) wasn’t going to hear it anymore.”
Blackburn wasn’t fazed. He got Rodriguez to ground out, then got Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to finish the sixth, as he retired 14 straight after he got out of a jam in the second inning.
Blackburn walked Toro to load the bases with two out in the second but got Sam Haggerty to ground out on a first-pitch curveball.
“He had every weapon in his arsenal today,” A’s catcher Stephen Vogt said of Blackburn. “You saw the results. We just, unfortunately, could scrape across another run for him.”
Blackburn’s road ERA of 1.44 before Saturday’s game, with just eight earned runs in 50 innings pitched, was the lowest in Major League Baseball. His six victories this season matches his win total from his 27 starts for the A’s from 2017 to 2021.
Vogt said Blackburn’s pitches, particularly his cut-fastball and curve, are just sharper now than before.
“Paul has been Mr. Consistency,” Vogt said. “He’s been the guy that we know every single time he’s on the mound, we have a great chance of winning that day and he’s given us that opportunity more often than not. I 100 percent believe he should be in L.A. in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, everybody else feels the same way.”
The A’s only run Mariners starter George Kirby came in the top of the first inning, as Sean Murphy’s sacrifice fly to right scored Tony Kemp from third base. Kemp had led off the game with a walk, which was followed by a Ramon Laureano single to right.
LOWRIE UPDATE: Jed Lowrie will remain out indefinitely after an MRI revealed fluid in his left shoulder, Kotsay said.
Lowrie, who was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a sprained shoulder, retroactive to June 27, received a cortisone injection and will start a strengthening program in a few days, Kotsay said.
Prior to being placed on the IL, Lowrie, 38, had gone 0-for-16 with eight strikeouts at the plate in his last six games in June. Lowrie’s mainly been used as a designated hitter this season and since he’s been out the lineup, the A’s have used Stephen Piscotty, Elvis Andrus, Christian Bethancourt and Sean Murphy in that spot.