There was a decent contingent of Oakland A's fans hoping that Paul Blackburn, a.k.a. "Paulie Brentwood," would end up landing the Opening Day start for the team since he grew up in the area. The A's have not come to terms on a lease extension at the Coliseum to date, with another meeting between the team and city officials set for early next month. That means that as of right now, this could still be the A's final season in Oakland, and having Blackburn get that start for the team's potential last Opening Day in The Town would have been special.
Instead, it will be veteran Alex Wood who gets the nod. In terms of the 2024 season and trying to improve upon the troubles of the past two years, Wood is a solid choice. Blackburn would have been the sentimental choice.
He's pitched well this spring, too. Just yesterday he tossed six scoreless, no-hit innings against a formidable foe in the Chicago Cubs. He also walked one and struck out three on 63 pitches. If this were a regular season game, he would have had a shot at going the distance, but other pitchers on the staff needed to get their work in, too.
This is the best spring that Blackburn has had since 2019 when he held a 2.25 ERA across eight frames. This year he has a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings, walking two, striking out eight, and holding a 0.83 WHIP. The A's actually have two starters in camp with WHIPs under one, with Blackburn being one, and JP Sears and his 0.69 the other.
Blackburn will get one more start to close out spring training before the regular season begins. If he continues to stay on schedule, he would be slated to pitch against the San Francisco Giants on Monday, March 25 in Oakland. From there, he would be on turn for the third game of the season against the Cleveland Guardians, but he will likely end up with an extra day of rest.
With Wood starting the opener on the 27th, Ross Stripling would be able to take the ball in the second game of the season, and would allow the A's to go with a lefty, then a righty. That trend would continue with JP Sears throwing the third game, followed by Blackburn in the finale of the Guardians' series.
The A's have a pair of veteran starters that could be on the move this summer with Wood and Stripling, but Blackburn could be an underrated trade piece that a team could end up very happy with at the deadline. He just had his best outing of camp, which hopefully means he's ready for the 2024 campaign.
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