 as the A's followed up a four-game sweep at Detroit with a win in the opener of a five-game homestand.Jed Lowrie added a solo homer in the eighth off Zach McAllister to move Oakland a season-high seven games over .500.Blackburn (2-2) had a 12.70 ERA his past three starts and struggled early against Cleveland, with four of the first seven batters reaching base safely. But a caught stealing and a double play helped him make it through the first two innings unscathed and he settled down from there.He retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced, allowing only a two-out walk to Yonder Alonso in the fourth before leaving after retiring Edwin Encarnacion to open the seventh. Blackburn allowed three hits and struck out five.Francisco Lindor hit an RBI double off Yusmeiro Petit in the eighth inning for Cleveland.Blake Treinen pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 23 chances. He has converted 18 straight save opportunities.The A's, who score nearly two fewer runs per game at home than on the road, managed to get single runs against Bauer in the second and sixth innings. Matt Olson doubled in the second and scored on Semien's two-out hit.Oakland added an insurance run in the sixth when Matt Joyce singled and scored on Davis' double.Bauer allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight. His 148 strikeouts are the most for a Cleveland pitcher before the end of June since Sam McDowell had 151 in 1970.TRAINER'S ROOMIndians: Manager Terry Francona said the team will have a decision soon on the status of injured starter Danny Salazar, who has been on the DL all season with a right shoulder injury. Francona said the team is ''exploring some things'' and said he would have more information in the next couple of days.Athletics: 3B Matt Chapman (hand) took grounders and hit off a tee. He will take BP on Sunday and could be back as early as next week. ... RHP Andrew Triggs (right arm nerve irritation) had his rehab shut down because he felt tingling in fingers. He will get a second opinion next week. ... RHP Trevor Cahill (right Achilles) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session and will either have a lengthier bullpen session or simulation game next in his rehab.UP NEXTEdwin Jackson (0-0) makes his second start for Oakland after allowing one run in six innings of a no-decision in his debut against Detroit. His nine-game winning streak against Cleveland is the longest since Storm Davis also won nine straight vs. the Indians from 1986-92. Adam Plutko (4-1) starts for Cleveland.---More baseball: apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
TICKETSTICKETSIndians' Bauer going for history at Oakland 4h ago• 2 min read OAKLAND, Calif. -- Trevor Bauer will pursue a piece of Cleveland Indians history Friday night when he opens a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics.Having recorded at least eight strikeouts in all five of his starts this month, Bauer needs 16 to match Hall of Famer Bob Feller's franchise record of 70 for the month of June, set in 1946.Bauer's career high for strikeouts in a game is 14, set last May against the A's in just seven innings.More realistically, the California native needs 10 strikeouts to equal the second-best June total in Indians history, set by Sam McDowell in 1965.Bauer (7-5, 2.44), who ranks third in the American League in strikeouts, has recorded 10 or more six times in his last eight starts, going 5-2 in the process.The 27-year-old right-hander has never won in Oakland, going 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA in three starts. He's 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in five career starts against the A's overall.One A's hitter Bauer has dominated in the past is hot-hitting Jed Lowrie, who has gone 1-for-9 in his career against him with five strikeouts in their all-time head-to-heads.Lowrie had 15 hits in nine starts on Oakland's just-completed road trip, raising his average to .294.Bauer will be facing an A's team that's playing its best ball of the season. Oakland is coming off a four-game sweep at Detroit that capped a 7-2 trip.The A's have won nine of 11 overall.The A's have been even better against the Indians in recent years, winning seven of the last eight meetings in Oakland, including all three on Cleveland's visit last July.Right-hander Paul Blackburn (1-2, 8.83) will oppose Bauer.The 24-year-old has alternated good and bad outings in his four appearances since returning from a strained right forearm that delayed the start of his season almost two full months.He's coming off one of the ugly ones, having allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings in a 10-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, but A's pitching coach Scott Emerson noted he was impressed with the first four innings, during Blackburn pitched scoreless, one-hit ball."It was tough for him, one rehab stint and then thrown into the fire," Emerson said of the abrupt start to Blackburn's season. "We're past that now, and I told him now is when we start putting our stuff together and getting the outs we're supposed to get. We can't use (the injury) as a crutch anymore. It's go time; he understands that." Blackburn has made one career start against the Indians, compiling a 0-0 record and 4.50 ERA.The Indians head west after having lost two of three in St. Louis. They had won their previous seven games.The Indians actually beat the A's into Oakland, having had Thursday off while the A's were finishing up their trip in Detroit.They are coming off a 5-1 win over the Cardinals in which rookie Shane Bieber not only recorded his third straight win but also his first major league hit, a double off fellow rookie Jack Flaherty.The A's won't see Bieber in the series ... except as a possible pinch hitter.
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