Elephant Rumblings: A’s avoid sweep behind Blackburn

MLB news roundup

Happy Monday, Athletics Nation! Hope you had a nice Easter weekend.

Did Paul Blackburn specially request to get the Easter Day start? That’s the only reason I can think of that he didn’t get the Opening Day nod. I know I wasn’t the only one who thought Paulie B deserved it, and in hindsight it’s all the clearer. Thanks to the veteran righty’s scoreless seven-inning gem, the A’s managed to end the opening series of 2024 with their first win of the season, denying the Guardians’ new manager Stephen Vogt a sweep to begin his career as a skipper.

It certainly feels better starting the week on the heels of a win rather than the humiliation of a sweep. The A’s walked it off yesterday when Abraham Toro literally walked with bases loaded in the ninth to bring home the winning run. The A’s have the most walk-off wins in MLB since moving to Oakland.

Lest we get too giddy about yesterday’s win, we should sober up by looking at the A’s .250 start to the season. The team could certainly use reinforcements, and the front office is on the lookout. The A’s made another waiver claim yesterday, picking up outfielder Tyler Nevin from the Orioles. AN’s JToster has details on Oakland’s latest acquisition.

Have a wonderful week, AN.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s claim Tyler Nevin off waivers, designate Adrian Martinez
• Toro walks it off with a walk, Blackburn spins a gem
• Latest On Oakland’s Proposal To Keep A’s Through 2025-27 Seasons

MLB News & Interest:

• We are one weekend in. Might as well dive into some overreactions!
• 1 Opening Weekend takeaway for each team
• Daulton Jefferies’ Giants debut goes awry in 13-4 loss to Padres ($)
• Giants-Dodgers rivalry gets first real taste with Shohei Ohtani in the mix on Monday ($)
• Giants Designate Joey Bart For Assignment
• How Elly De La Cruz made the jump to the ‘Jumpman’
• Giants eager to see Snell boost rotation
• Sale’s Uber career on hold after solid Braves debut
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Roster moves.

Sodie looking like Sodie again in Triple-A.

Burke not the only one thinking Bart might rapidly transport across the bay.

Mengden makes his CPBL debut.