PAUL BLACKBURN NEWS

Esteury Ruiz homers and the A's beat the Cardinals 6-3 to avoid a sweep

Esteury Ruiz homered for the second time in three games since being recalled from Triple-A, and the Oakland Athletics beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 on Wednesday to avoid a three...

APRIL 17 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

A's Paul Blackburn out to continue scoreless-innings streak vs. Cardinals Right-hander Paul Blackburn will attempt to continue his American League Pitcher of the Month candidacy when he and the Oakland Athletics ho...

APRIL 17 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Cardinals aim to sweep 3-game series against the Athletics

The St. Louis Cardinals will aim to sweep a three-game series with a win over the Oakland Athletics

APRIL 17 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Blackburn has record-setting start; Butler walks it off for A's in 10th OAKLAND -- After getting a late start to his 2023 campaign due to injury, Paul Blackburn was excited to get through this spring healthy for...

APRIL 13 • MLB.COM

Nationals visit the Athletics to start 3-game series

The Oakland Athletics start a three-game series at home against the Washington Nationals on Friday

APRIL 12 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paul Blackburn, two A's relievers shut out Tigers Paul Blackburn and two relievers combined on a five-hit shutout as the visiting Oakland Athletics defeated the Detroit Tigers, 4-0, on Satur...

APRIL 6 • KANSASCITY.COM

Blackburn, Rooker lead Athletics to 4-0 win over Tigers

Brent Rooker homered, Paul Blackburn pitched six sparkling innings and the Oakland Athletics earned their second win of the season, beating the Detroit Tigers 4-0

APRIL 6 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Blackburn extends scoreless streak to 13 IP vs. Tigers DETROIT -- There was some speculation this spring that Paul Blackburn would be named the A’s Opening Day starter. He is a former All-Star an...

APRIL 6 • MLB.COM

Athletics enter matchup with the Tigers on losing streak

The Oakland Athletics look to end a four-game losing streak with a win against the Detroit Tigers

APRIL 6 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Spins gem in 2024 debut Blackburn didn't factor into the decision Sunday versus the Guardians, throwing seven scoreless innings on three hits and a walk. He struck out three.

Impact Blackburn was excellent in his first start of the season, retiring his first 12 batters and giving up no extra-base hits. He got out of a jam in the fifth inning, getting Gabriel Arias to fly out with the bases loaded. Despite the impressive outing, Blackburn didn't get the win after the Athletics bullpen surrendered three runs on three hits, a hit-by-pitch and a fielding error in the eighth frame. Blackburn will have an opportunity to build on his scoreless debut with tentative matchups against the Tigers and Nationals scheduled for his next two starts.

APRIL 1 • ROTOWIRE

Impressive in spring debut Blackburn (1-0) was credited with the victory in the Athletics' Cactus League win over the Giants on Wednesday, allowing an earned run on a solo home run and recording three strike...

Impact Outside of the one mistake pitch that led to a J.D. Davis solo home run, Blackburn was very effective while placing 22 of his 33 pitches in the strike zone, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com The right-hander posted just a 4-7 record across 21 appearances (20 starts) last season, but that underwhelming mark was accompanied by a serviceable 4.43 ERA. Blackburn who avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $3.45 million deal this winter, is expected to helm Oakland's starting rotation.

FEBRUARY 29 • ROTOWIRE

Paul Blackburn and Seth Brown agree to 1-year contracts with the A's, avoiding arbitration

Right-hander Paul Blackburn and outfielder Seth Brown have agreed to one-year contracts with the Oakland Athletics

JANUARY 12 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Brief outing against Twins 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.

Impact 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 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.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Decent in loss 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.

Impact 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.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Posts another short outing 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.

Impact 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.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Yanked after three frames Blackburn allowed two runs on six hits and three walks over three innings in Friday's win over Texas. He struck out five and did not factor in the decision.

Impact Blackburn needed 87 pitches (43 strikes) to complete three innings in his inefficient outing. It was his shortest outing since July 9 after nine straight starts of at least five frames. He posted a 5.48 ERA over his first nine starts 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.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Earns fourth win 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.

Impact 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.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Yields four runs in loss 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.

Impact 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.

AUGUST 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Records another quality start 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.

Impact 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.

AUGUST 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Blanks Cards for third win 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.

Impact 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.

AUGUST 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Paul Blackburn, A's blank Cardinals Paul Blackburn threw seven scoreless innings as the visiting Oakland Athletics blanked the St. Louis Cardinals 8-0 on Wednesday.

AUGUST 17, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Shaky control against Nats 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.

Impact 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.

AUGUST 12, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Tosses six-inning gem Saturday 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 struc...

Impact 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 surrendering two runs or fewer. After a delayed beginning to the season that saw him struggle to achieve start-to-start consistency over the first month-plus, Blackburn's current three-start run 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.

AUGUST 6, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Turns in quality start 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.

Impact 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.

JULY 30, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Pitches well in no-decision 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.

Impact 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.

JULY 23, 2023 • ROTOWIRE