BOSTON -- The American League ERA leaderboard shows a number of guys making strong cases for a 2022 All-Star Game bid. Alek Manoah, Shane McClanahan, Nestor Cortes, Justin Verlander.

Just a couple of rows below them is a pitcher who’s quietly having a season that could put his name in the All-Star conversation. With a 2.26 ERA, Oakland starter Paul Blackburn ranks seventh in the AL. The right-hander is tied for 11th in walks (17) and is ranked 13th in WHIP (1.07).

In Thursday’s finale against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Blackburn moved to 6-2 after holding a potent Boston lineup to only one run over his 5 1/3 innings as the A’s held on for a 4-3 win.

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“For us, I mean, he's been great,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “We see Paul as a workhorse for us this year thus far. He's continuing to get better, I think, throughout the season. And that's all you can ask. He's put himself in a position to be [put] in conversation as a top-line starter, and he's earned that right now.”

The eight hits Blackburn allowed marked a season high, but they also paint a picture of how effective the right-hander can be working out of jams. After allowing a first-pitch leadoff bunt to Jarren Duran, Blackburn was fairly consistently working around traffic throughout his outing.

Three of the hits Blackburn allowed came on grounders, tying his season high (June 4, also against the Red Sox). Entering Thursday, Blackburn’s ground-ball rate was 51.8 percent vs. the MLB average of 43.7 percent. And among 133 MLB pitchers who had allowed 50-plus grounders, Blackburn’s .129 opposing batting average on those balls (13-for-101) was the fifth lowest.

“I feel like earlier I would try and be too perfect on every single pitch I threw,” Blackburn said. “Especially when guys got on base, I would try and be perfect and that would lead me into bad counts, bad situations, walks and then stuff would just snowball on me. And this year, I've really tried to slow the game down as much as I can and make quality pitches and not necessarily be perfect but make quality pitches. And it’s just one of the things that's helped me this year, honestly, just slowing the game down and staying within myself.”

It’s been a long journey for Blackburn, who was drafted by the Cubs in 2012 and who broke into the big leagues in ‘17. The right-hander missed the second half of the ‘18 season with injuries and then spent ‘19 and ‘20 bouncing back and forth between the Majors and Minors. Last season, he pitched to a 5.87 ERA over nine starts, and this year, everything is clicking.

“In the past, I've struggled so much. And coming into this year, I've really just kind of used the mentality of like, ‘What do I really have to lose?’” Blackburn said. “And that's kind of helped me to stay [clear-minded]. I'm not looking at numbers, I'm not looking at that. I'm going out there and I'm pitching pitch-to-pitch and, you know, at the end of year hopefully I look up and I'm happy with where I'm at, honestly.”

Blackburn took the mound Thursday coming off his best outing of the season, shutting down the Guardians in an eight-inning outing in Cleveland on June 10. Six days before that, Blackburn got his first look at the Red Sox in Oakland. The righty lasted four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks on 73 pitches.

Though his 2.26 ERA proves Blackburn is effective across the board, he has fared significantly better on the road this season. In Oakland, Blackburn has a 4.39 ERA in five starts. On the road: he’s 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA.

“There's just something about coming into a place and quieting a crowd,” Blackburn said. “I don't know, it's just what I've always enjoyed. Just playing here, I know the fans here are crazy, I know it's a huge baseball town. I know they're gonna have this place packed, I know people are gonna be chirping me in the bullpen as soon as I step in there.

“And [it’s] just being able to hear those little comments and kind of essentially prove people wrong. Pitching on the road is just a different beast in this game. And I feel like if you're able to quiet a crowd, it's one of the better feelings in this game.”