Paul Blackburn, Drew Rucinski Set to Rehab in Las Vegas
Paul Blackburn made his first rehab start on Friday night with the Stockton Ports and came away feeling healthy. Per Martín Gallegos, the next step for him will be a rehab outing with Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday. He'll be throwing around 45 pitches and roughly three innings.
Blackburn last pitched in a game on March 10 after tearing his fingernail in his first start on March 5 in Las Vegas.
Last night with the Ports, the 2022 All Star went 1.2 innings, gave up seven hits, three runs (two earned), walked one and recorded zero strikeouts. The first three batters went single, double, single to give the visiting Modesto Nuts a 1-0 lead. The cleanup hitter, Gabe Moncada, hit a sac-fly to make it 2-0. The next two batters also singled, loading the bases, before Blackburn induced a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam.
Free agent signee Drew Rucinski, who's also on the IL to begin the season, will be getting the start on Wednesday for the Aviators. He will also be on the three inning, 45 pitch regimen. Rucinski has been dealing with hamstring tightness and last pitched in a spring game on March 14, though he had a couple of outings in minor league games during camp.
Rucinski was a bullpen guy the last time he was in the U.S. as a member of the Miami Marlins, and he said earlier this week that when he went to the KBO he had to pick up being a starter again. The last game that he pitched as a starter before his venture overseas was in Triple-A in 2017, and he has only started one game in the big leagues (in 2015), despite accumulating 54 innings.
The A's are going to need a spot starter in the rotation on Thursday of next week in the midst of 13 straight games, with Shintaro Fujinami only pitching on Saturdays. Both Rucinski and Blackburn will be eligible to return from the IL in time for that game, but given that they'll be starting in Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday, they won't be in the mix for that particular start.
According to Roster Resource over at FanGraphs, former A's lefty Cole Irvin is in line to start that Thursday contest in Baltimore.
Jason Burke is the Managing Editor of Inside the A's and the host of the Locked on A's podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @ByJasonB
Photo courtesy of Michael Denham. Follow him on Instagram @Mikehdflicks
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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