Paul Blackburn’s Unpredictable Season Takes a New Turn

In a rather unusual twist to his already strange season, Paul Blackburn found himself waking up late Tuesday night, knocking on his hotel room door. The reason? He had missed a call from the Mets, who were planning to activate him from the injured list the following day.

As it stood, Blackburn was gearing up for a rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse.

Meanwhile, the Mets had their sights set on using Justin Hagenmann, who had just secured a win over the Braves after pitching four innings. The plan was to bring Blackburn in as a replacement for Hagenmann.

“I was definitely surprised,” Blackburn mentioned on Wednesday at Citi Field after the Mets fell 11-6 to the Braves.

In an unexpected turn, Blackburn ended up pitching the last five innings of the game, managing to allow just two more runs.

“He saved the bullpen,” remarked manager Carlos Mendoza.

Nonetheless, it’s uncertain how long Blackburn will remain in this role. With the Mets needing to call up Nolan McLean for his major league debut on Saturday, Blackburn—who has no remaining minor league options—could be a strong candidate for designation for assignment.

After spending six weeks on the injured list due to a right shoulder collision, Blackburn’s last outing for the Mets was back on June 28th in Pittsburgh. He had already missed two months earlier in the season due to knee inflammation and faced a stomach virus that complicated his recovery.

To date, Blackburn has participated in 12 minor league games during his rehab assignment.

He was close to returning but might not stay on the roster as the Mets seem to be looking to optimize it.

In his seven appearances—four of which were starts—he sported a 6.85 ERA.

“I just really want to be in the place and pitch,” Blackburn expressed. “I just want to be somewhere and pitch.”

In another note, the Mets postponed a ceremony to honor Pete Alonso for breaking Daryl Strawberry’s franchise home run record due to heavy rain. Alonso achieved his 253rd homer on Tuesday and later hit his 254th. The ceremony is now set for Thursday before the game.

The Mets also set a franchise record on Tuesday, hitting at least six home runs in three games this season. Their previous peak was seven home runs in a single game on June 21st in Philadelphia. Notably, all six home runs on Tuesday came with two outs, marking only the fifth occurrence of such a feat in MLB since the expansion era began in 1961.