The Athletics reinstated Blackburn (foot) from the 60-day injured list ahead of his start Friday against the Angels. Blackburn has been out since May 10 after suffering a stress reaction in his right foot. He has since made three rehab appearances in the minor leagues, giving up eight earned runs in just four total innings of work. He managed to reach only 49 pitches in 2.2 frames during his latest outing Saturday, and manager Mark Kotsay said the right-hander will be limited to roughly 65-to-70 pitches during his first MLB start in over two months. Hogan Harris was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move.
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The Athletics reinstated Blackburn (foot) from the 60-day injured list ahead of his start Friday against the Angels. Blackburn has been out since May 10 after suffering a stress reaction in his right foot. He has since made three rehab appearances in the minor leagues, giving up eight earned runs in just four total innings of work. He managed to reach only 49 pitches in 2.2 frames during his latest outing Saturday, and manager Mark Kotsay said the right-hander will be limited to roughly 65-to-70 pitches during his first MLB start in over two months. Hogan Harris was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move.
The Athletics optioned Harris to Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday. Harris will cede his spot in the rotation to Paul Blackburn (foot) on Friday with Blackburn coming off the 60-day IL. Harris' option comes as a bit of a surprise considering how effective he's been for Oakland. The 27-year-old has a 2.98 ERA in 54.1 innings spanning 11 appearances (nine starts).
Rooker went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in a win over the Angels on Thursday. Rooker uncorked a mammoth 441-foot shot to left field in the first inning shortly after Lawrence Butler led off the game with a double and scored on an error. Rooker has been on a long-ball tear since shortly before the All-Star break, now having left the yard in six of the last nine games. After reaching the 30-homer mark in a career-best 2023 season, he's just six shy of that number in 47 fewer games during the current campaign.
Butler went 2-for-5 with a double, a two-run homer, two runs scored and a stolen base in Thursday's win over the Angels. Butler kicked things off for Oakland with a leadoff double before coming around to score the team's first run on a throwing error by Logan O'Hoppe. The outfielder then added a two-run shot in his next trip to the plate, giving him nine homers in July to go along with 26 RBI and 19 runs scored. Butler has also hit safely in eight consecutive games, registering multiple hits in seven of them. Over that eight-game stretch he's batting .545 (18-for-33) with 12 extra-base hits,15 RBI and 12 runs scored.
Stripling (2-9) picked up the win over the Angels on Thursday, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks over 5.2 innings while striking out three. Stripling ran into trouble in the second inning after allowing four consecutive batters to reach base with one out. He would end up being tagged for five runs in the frame but recovered nicely, retiring 13 of the next 15 batters he faced as the Oakland offense roared back in an eventual 6-5 victory. The right-hander has surrendered at least four runs in each of his last three starts dating back to May 18, and Stripling had also lost each of his previous four starts prior to Thursday's win.
Blackburn (foot) will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list to start Friday's game against the Angels in Anaheim, MLB.com reports. Blackburn will make his first start for the Athletics since May 10, when he suffered a right foot stress reaction during an outing in Seattle. Oakland is electing to activate Blackburn despite the fact that he maxed out at 2.2 innings and 49 pitches during his three minor-league rehab starts and was most recently roughed up for seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks in his last outing for Triple-A Las Vegas on July 20. Manager Mark Kotsay said Thursday that Blackburn will be limited to around 65-70 pitches in his return, and the Athletics could turn to Joey Estes if length is needed behind the veteran right-hander.
Wood (shoulder) will undergo season-ending surgery, Brent Maguire of MLB.com reports. Wood has been sidelined since mid-May and has not been able to resume throwing. His 2024 season will conclude after only 39.1 innings, and it's unclear whether he will be ready for spring training in 2025.
Medina (elbow) will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, Brent Maguire of MLB.com reports. Medina has been sidelined since July 13 with a right elbow sprain and sought a second opinion Monday. He'll be out for the rest of 2024 and will likely miss all of the 2025 campaign as well, though he could return for roughly the final month. Medina showed glimpses of effectiveness in the big-league rotation, but he'll end the current campaign with a 5.18 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across 40 innings.