OAKLAND, Calif. -- A’s right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn has been selected to the American League All-Star Team for the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday, July 19, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It is his first career All-Star selection.
The A’s have been represented at the All-Star Game by a starting pitcher in back-to-back years, with right-hander Chris Bassitt being selected along with first baseman Matt Olson in 2021.
Blackburn, 28, is 6-4 with a 3.36 ERA (34 er in 91.0 ip), 23 walks, and 73 strikeouts in 17 starts for the A’s this season. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 11 of his 17 starts and his average of 0.89 home runs per nine innings is eighth lowest among American League starters. The right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.28 ERA (8 er in 56.1 ip) in 10 starts on the road, the lowest road ERA in the Majors.
In six Major League seasons, Blackburn is 12-15 with a 4.79 ERA in 47 games, including 44 starts. He was originally selected by the Cubs as a supplemental pick following the first round of the 2012 Draft and was traded twice in 2016. He made his Major League debut with Oakland in 2017 but missed the final 36 games due to injury. This year, he has reached career highs in every counting category, and his ERA is second only to his 3.22 mark in his abbreviated debut season.
The MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard returns to Dodger Stadium for the first time in four decades on Tuesday, July 19. The 2022 Midsummer Classic will join the All-Star Games of 1949, 1959, and 1980 as those hosted by the Dodgers franchise, with the latter two being played in the city of Los Angeles. The 92nd Midsummer Classic will mark the 13th to be played in the state of California, the most among any state. In addition to the games played in Los Angeles, the cities of Anaheim (1967, 1989, 2010), Oakland (1987), San Diego (1978, 1992, 2016) and San Francisco (1961, 1984, 2007) have also hosted Baseball’s annual summer showcase.
The All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by 70 partners in 16 languages across 210 countries and territories. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and Univision Radio (Spanish) will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. For ongoing MLB All-Star Week information, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB. MLB Network, MLB.com, and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.