Blackburn battles fatigue to return to All-Star form

CHICAGO -- Paul Blackburn was in the midst of the worst three-game stretch of his Major League career. Worse yet, he had to try to get out of that funk on a night when he was feeling under the weather.

But Blackburn appeared to get back to that All-Star form on Saturday night in the A’s 3-2 loss against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, despite not feeling 100 percent.

“Paul was great today,” catcher Sean Murphy said. “That’s the same Paul we’ve been seeing all year. Executing his pitches, getting quick outs, making the lineup swing and making them hit tough pitches on the edge. That’s Paul.”

Blackburn did all that was asked of him on Saturday. He delivered five scoreless innings and allowed just five hits with four strikeouts. The All-Star gave the team a chance to win and seemed to get back into a groove on the mound.

“I feel like everything was pretty synced up today,” Blackburn said. “Just with the stuff we worked on from my last start to this start. I feel like I was back to getting ground balls.”

That new groove helped Blackburn feel comfortable all night, even when trouble arose.

After allowing a single to White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson in the first, Blackburn set down 10 straight hitters. And even when he gave up back-to-back singles in the fourth, his teammates Elvis Andrus and Nick Allen turned a slick double play to get him out of the inning.

“He was locating everything,” White Sox outfielder Gavin Sheets said. “Mixing in, mixing both halves. Using all of his pitches. Keeping us off balance with that. Getting the corners, not missing over the middle much. Props to him. He’s an All-Star for a reason, and tonight he was throwing the ball well.”

The fifth inning was Blackburn’s most difficult one to get through, as he had runners on second and third with nobody out. But he escaped the jam by getting a weak popup and two strikeouts.

The strikeout of Anderson to end the inning was a big moment for Blackburn. From All-Star to All-Star, the right-hander used his slider to seal the strikeout, a pitch that he used just once on Saturday.

“Just felt like the right pitch at the right time and that’s what Paul provides us,” Murphy said. “He provides you [with] a bunch of different options. That’s the confidence that we have in him to execute his pitches.”

The right-hander failed to get out of those situations in his previous start, when he allowed a career high 10 earned runs against the Rangers. But Blackburn’s ability to escape those jams on Saturday was a sign that hopefully those troubles were behind him.

“It [feels] good,” Blackburn said. “That’s a good team over there. They can hurt you anytime. Just being able to kind of get back on the right track, have a positive outing and get back on a good roll.”

Despite feeling sick, Blackburn wasn’t going to let that get in the way of his start. He wasn’t focused on it and just wanted to help the team win.

“The last 48 hours, I’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff just illness-wise,” Blackburn said. “Right now, I’m absolutely exhausted. I was able to battle through it today. I tried to just work pitch-by-pitch, not really think about how I was feeling, just think about executing pitches.”

Exiting after five innings, Blackburn was exhausted, with sweat profusely dripping down his face. After 62 pitches, the right-hander’s night was over.

“Fatigue just set in tonight,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “You can see it in his face. He worked hard. He was sweating. For me and him, that was the right decision. He was pretty much out of gas.”

Sick and exhausted, the All-Star still delivered one of his best starts since July 2. It was extremely refreshing for Blackburn to finally get results on the mound, especially after his struggles.

Over his last three starts, Blackburn had allowed 21 earned runs across 14 1/3 innings. Those runs were the most allowed by an A’s pitcher over a three-game stretch since Mark Mulder gave up 21 (16 earned) from Sept. 15-26, 2004.

“It’s nice being able to put the last three, four, five outings [behind me],” Blackburn said. “I feel like I’ve kind of been off. To just come in today and have a good one. I wish it would have happened a little sooner. But just build off today and keep moving forward.”