Blackburn a bulldog, Rooker rakes as A's top Halos

OAKLAND -- Superb command is what has helped Paul Blackburn emerge as the A’s most consistent starter. So when he began Saturday’s game against the Angels by throwing eight of 14 pitches for balls to walk his first two batters, it was evident the right-hander had his work cut out for him.

These are the situations where pitchers can truly show what they are made of. Despite Blackburn sitting at 48 pitches after just two innings and feeling like very few things were going right on the mound, he responded with a gutsy performance in Oakland’s tightly contested 2-1 victory at the Coliseum, limiting the Halos to one run on four hits and three walks, with four strikeouts over five innings.

“The results look good, but it was one of those outings where nothing could go right,” Blackburn said. “As far as pitches, I didn’t have a feel for anything out there. Sometimes, when you go out there and have outings like that and you’re able to get through it and come out with a win like we did today, those are a lot more meaningful than ones when you have your stuff.”

There was nothing too pretty about Blackburn’s performance. Sure, his 16 whiffs (swing and misses) were the second-most he’s recorded in one start in his career. But the lack of feel for pitches led to him battling constant threats by the Halos' offense as he allowed baserunners to reach in four of his five innings.

Yet through all that traffic on the bases, Blackburn walked off the mound after inducing an inning-ending double play against Brandon Drury in the fifth having lowered his ERA to 3.81.

“Paul had a rough one, but not a rough one because the line was good,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He battled himself. He didn’t have his stuff today. He was competing, though, which is what we always talk about.”

The final line was not too different from what Blackburn has produced for most of the season. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 12 of his 17 games (16 starts) this season. His best work has come in the second half, and he has a 2.30 ERA (12 earned runs in 47 innings) over his past eight starts.

Saturday was the type of outing that exemplifies the grit Blackburn has displayed throughout his journey with the A’s. From getting designated for assignment in 2021 to earning his first career All-Star selection one year later, the 29-year-old is the perfect leader for this rebuilding A’s club that is filled with promising young players who are looking to establish themselves at the highest level.

"Managing a game like that comes with experience,” Kotsay said. “That comes through learning from the failures. For [Blackburn], the path that he’s been on and the journey he’s gone through with our organization, these young guys have a lot to learn from just watching him. You could tell he was fighting himself all day. He didn’t have much, but went out and gave us five innings.”

Blackburn was provided just enough run support with one swing of the bat from Brent Rooker, who clubbed a two-run homer off Griffin Canning in the fourth. The All-Star’s 436-foot blast came on a 1-2 changeup and was his team-leading 23rd home run.

While Rooker’s platoon stats are better against left-handers this season, the homer off Canning was his 16th off a righty this season as opposed to seven long balls when facing lefties.

“Nothing off the top of my head sticks out,” Rooker said when asked about the lopsided power numbers. “But my goal this year was to establish myself as a guy who can play against both, and not just a platoon guy against lefties. The left-handed splits are a little better, but that the numbers are as close as they are against both is encouraging.”

Two games into September, the A’s are showing promising signs in their quest for a strong finish, now 7-5 over their past 12 games.

“The last two days, winning a game where we came out scoring nine runs and then winning the next day with two runs shows a lot of growth in our team,” Rooker said. “When you look around the league at teams that are competitive and win a lot, they’re able to win in multiple ways. That we’ve done that the past two games is an encouraging sign moving forward.”