Blackburn solid again for 1st win in majors
SEATTLE — Paul Blackburn pitched so well in his bigleague debut, the right-hander from Brentwood got another start Thursday at Safeco Field.
He might not leave the rotation at this rate: Blackburn turned in another super outing to help Oakland beat the Mariners 7-4, earning his first bigleague victory and helping Bob Melvin get his 500th win as manager of the A’s.
“I was a lot more nervous this start than the first one,” said Blackburn, who has allowed one earned run in 132⁄3 innings overall. “The first one, I don’t think everything had really set in . ... I was a lot more antsy to get out there.”
Blackburn went 72⁄3 innings
and allowed eight hits Thursday, but he got double-play balls in the first and second (the latter by Danny Valencia, whom the A’s traded to Seattle in November to acquire Blackburn), and he picked off Jean Segura in the fourth. The only run off Blackburn came on Mitch Haniger’s solo homer in the fifth.
“This lineup is never easy to face, and tonight he made it look easy,” catcher Bruce Maxwell said.
“Your first start is kind of an out-of-body experience,” Melvin said. “And your second start is about performing, and certainly, against the team he was traded from, he pitches into the eighth inning, throws the ball where he wants to . ... Really, really good performance from him.”
Blackburn had hundreds of friends and family on hand for his debut in Oakland, and on Thursday, his parents were in attendance with a group of 20 or so relatives; his mother, Jennifer, is from nearby Everett, Wash.
The A’s welcomed shortstop Marcus Semien back to the lineup after he missed three months with a right wrist fracture that required surgery. Semien walked in his first plate appearance and scored on a two-run double by Jed Lowrie. Semien singled to open the fifth, stole second and scored on Khris Davis’ three-run homer off Sam Gaviglio.
Davis has 24 homers and 60 RBIs, and over the past two seasons, his 66 homers are the most in baseball; Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Trumbo are second with 59.
Davis, however, was left off the American League All-Star roster and Melvin said he is “very surprised” that Davis got so little All-Star attention. “Based on what he’s done the last two years for us and the start he got off to, too, I thought would put him right in the middle of it,” Melvin said. “Maybe the fact we’re not higher up in the standings might have something to do with only getting one guy, but, for me, Khris Davis was overlooked.”
Davis also drew a walk and struck out twice. His 115 strikeouts before the break have set an A’s record, breaking Jack Cust’s mark of 114 in 2008.
Maxwell hit a solo shot off Gaviglio that chased the Mariners’ starter in the fifth. It was Maxwell’s first of the season.
Yonder Alonso drove in Oakland’s first run with a double in the first. Lowrie’s double was his 27th of the season, setting an Oakland record for most doubles before the break. Joe Rudi (1974) and Bobby Crosby (2008) had 26.
Valencia hit a three-run homer in the ninth against his former club, a drive to left-center off Daniel Coulombe.
Semien had been out since April 15 after fracturing the scaphoid bone in his wrist. He played eight minor-league games before returning — he noted he’s on a five-city road trip that went Stockton-San JoseNashville-Colorado SpringsSeattle — and he hit .323 with two homers.
“The first couple of games were sort of like, ‘How do I stand again? What’s my batting stance?’ and just getting my timing down,” Semien said. “As I got to Nashville, I just started to feel a lot better and pain-free . ... I’m glad to have it back to normal.”
Semien had a solid night in the field, and the A’s didn’t make an error for the third game in a row, not so coincidentally all wins. Jaycob Brugman turned in Oakland’s top defensive play, throwing Haniger out at third trying to advance on a flyball to center.