Blackburn allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks over four innings Wednesday but didn't factor into the decision in a 7-6 loss to the Royals. He struck out two.
He labored through his short outing, throwing only 56 of 97 pitches for strikes, and left the game on the hook for the loss before the A's rallied to tie things in the bottom of the eighth inning. Blackburn has now allowed four runs or more in four of his last six starts but held his opponents scoreless in the other two, leaving him with a semi-respectable 4.37 ERA over that stretch. He'll next take the mound Tuesday in Baltimore.