A's Recall Aviators Pitcher Paul Blackburn
Paul Blackburn's personal itinerary for the next week seemed locked in: Make his scheduled start for the Aviators in Albuquerque on Friday night, fly to El Paso, Texas, for Wednesday's Triple-A All-Star game, then rejoin his teammates in Las Vegas on Thursday. Well, the Oakland A's - the Aviators' parent
Well, the Oakland A's - the Aviators' parent club - put that itinerary in the shredder Friday when they instructed Blackburn to pack his things, head to Seattle and join the A's for their weekend series against the Mariners. It's the second time this season Oakland has promoted the veteran right-handed pitcher, who has made 17 starts for the A's over parts of the last three seasons.
One of those starts was June 8 in Texas, when Blackburn was recalled in an emergency to start the first game of a doubleheader that followed a rainout the previous night. Blackburn lasted only three innings, giving up five runs on five hits and three weeks in a 10-5 loss, after which the A's optioned him back to Las Vegas.
It's unclear when Blackburn, who last pitched Sunday in Las Vegas, will take the mound for Oakland, as right-handers
Along with Mengden, who was 4-2 with a 3.47 ERA in nine games (seven starts) with Las Vegas, Blackburn has been the Aviators' most consistent starting pitcher this season, going 7-1 with a 5.26 ERA. The 25-year-old leads the team in victories and winning percentage, and ranks second in innings pitched (78 2/3) and strikeouts (60). In his most recent start against the Reno Aces on Sunday, he allowed just two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings.
Including his start in Texas last month, the California native is 5-5 with a 4.84 ERA in his 17 big-league starts.
To make room for Blackburn on the roster, the A's optioned fellow right-handed pitcher
AVIATORS ROUT ISOTOPES: After dropping the opener of their four-game series in Albuquerque 8-2 on Thursday, the Aviators bounced back in a big way Friday, cruising to a 16-3 victory. Las Vegas (50-38) has now won five of its last six games and nine of its last 12 to pull within 3 ½ games of first-place El Paso in the PCL's Pacific Southern division.
Las Vegas scored the game's first 11 runs Friday, and everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, with seven players recording multiple hits. Once again, infielder
Three other Aviators chipped in three hits apiece Friday, including
JOSEPH KEEPS RAKING: During his 18-game hitting streak, which is the Aviators' longest this season, Joseph is batting an eye-popping .536 (37-for-69) with nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 22 runs, 20 RBI and 12 multi-hit games. Going back to June 1, the left-handed-hitting 30-year-old has hit safely in 24 of the 25 games in which he's played, going 47-for-92 (.511). During this stretch, Joseph has twice as many multi-hit games (14) as he does strikeouts (seven).
Of course, Joseph isn't the only Aviator swinging a hot bat right now. Outfielder
Also, catcher
ON DECK: The Aviators continue their series in Albuquerque tonight, with
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