Blackburn Returns

Morning Dose: Thursday, February 27

☀️ Good Morning:

Three months before he was traded to the National League, Paul Blackburn did something no pitcher in Oakland history had ever done before, or as it turns out, he accomplished something that will live forever in Oakland baseball history.

For the first 22.1 innings of his 2024 season, Blackburn did not allow a run. That covered his first three starts, falling short of setting a modern-era record of starting a campaign with four consecutive scoreless starts.

That means for over 22 innings, the bearded 30-year-old (now 31) was a right-handed Barry Zito or Vida Blue. He was an Ace, before he finally looked in the mirror and realized he was a depth starter named Paul Blackburn.

For the Mets to start the season different than the way they did last April, they need someone like Blackburn to be what they won’t have in Sean Manaea or Frankie Montas, or who knows, maybe even Kodai Senga.

He doesn’t have to be great for 30 starts. He has to be really good for three or four. Enough to set the pace. That’s how you win a marathon, with pacing and the occasional quick lap.

Blackburn’s early-season success started in spring training. He finished last spring with 13.2 straight scoreless innings. There was a month when it looked like he was going to be a real story for Oakland until hitters caught up to him and a stress reaction in his right foot sidelined him for most of May and June.

Mets fans caught a glimpse of the promising Blackburn last season when he first arrived after the trade deadline. But saw his inconsistencies as well. He ended the season on the injured list.

This offseason Blackburn had a cerebrospinal fluid leak repair, which sounds more like something you would do to your car than your body. The procedure entails doctors shaving bone spurs around a capsule in the area of his spine that was punctured, draining spinal fluid and stitching the capsule.

Revving his engine back up for his 2025 spring debut on Thursday, he needed only seven pitches to throw a scoreless frame. He threw four changeups, and sprinkled in his curveball, cutter and slider.

“Everything felt good out there,” he said after the game. “There was definitely some excitement. I had the normal jitters and anxiety before the game, but I just wanted to start. I feel like today was a step in the right direction.”

On a day the Mets offered some more injury news, it was refreshing to see Blackburn back on the mound, taking an important first step that could lead to a critical run in a depleted rotation.

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!