Justin Wrobleski strikes out nine in no-decision

Wrobleski was among the most prominent snubs for the Midsummer Classic. He winds up earning a well-deserved ticket to Philadelphia as a replacement for Reds flame-thrower Chase Burns, who will not pitch in the Midsummer Classic. The 25-year-old southpaw made a real statement in his final first-half outing, piling up nine strikeouts and allowing one run over seven innings against the Rockies earlier this week. He holds a sparkling 2.69 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 73/20 K/BB ratio across 100 1/3 innings of work.

The A’s brought a run in to score on two hits in the first inning. He then held the A’s scoreless over five more frames until Colby Thomas took him deep for a two-run blast in the seventh. Wrobleski would finish out the inning and end his day with no walks and 11 strikeouts on 19 swinging strikes. The 25-year-old left-hander will take a 2.81 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 64/18 K/BB ratio across 93 innings into a start against the Rockies in Los Angeles next Tuesday.

Wrobleski was again over 95 mph on average with his fastball tonight. He’s come in at 95.2-95.4 mph in all four of his starts in June. Prior to this month, he’d averaged 93.8 mph with his fastball and never topped 95 mph in any of his starts. The extra velocity hasn’t led to a big spike in his strikeout rate, but he has pitched well in three of his four outings during the stretch. There was reason to doubt his early season success, but his stock has definitely climbed some. That said, don’t be too surprised if he has a setback in a tough ballpark in Sacramento next week.

Wrobleski was outstanding on Tuesday, keeping the Rays off the board over six frames. He allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter, tossing an efficient 50-of-67 pitches for strikes and collecting five strikeouts. The 25-year-old left-hander will take a 2.72 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 50/16 K/BB ratio across 79 1/3 innings into a start against the Twins in Minnesota next Tuesday.

Wrobleski appears ready to take the ball on normal rest after leaving Thursday’s start against the Pirates with a hamstring contusion. The 25-year-old southpaw appears to have avoided serious injury. He’s compiled a respectable 2.95 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 45/16 K/BB ratio across 73 1/3 innings this season.

All things considered, it sounds like the 25-year-old southpaw was fortunate to have avoided any serious injuries after he was struck by a comebacker and then got tangled up with a baserunner while attempting to cover first base. He should be okay to make his next scheduled start, but check back over the next few days just to be on the safe side.

Wrobleski then got tangled up with the runner while covering first base on the play. He’ll head for further evaluation to see what’s going on. Before exiting, the 25-year-old southpaw had allowed four runs on six hits and a pair of walks in his 4 2/3 innings. He exits with a lead and one out shy of qualifying for a victory.

Wrobleski left with a 2-0 lead, but that was blown by Will Klein and Alex Vesia in the eighth before Tanner Scott lost the game in the ninth. Wrobleski averaged 95.4 mph with his fastball tonight, which was 1.6 mph above his season average. It’s his second straight outing with a season high in that department, as he came in at 94.9 mph last week against the Phillies. There was good reason to think Wrobleski’s early season success was unsustainable, given his hideous strikeout rate, but with his velocity and his whiff rate up, he’d seem to have a much sturdier foundation now. He’ll face the Pirates next week.

Wrobleski’s only blemish was a solo homer by Kyle Schwarber. The 25-year-old bounced back nicely from his rough outing against the Brewers where he gave up five runs in as many innings, and he pounded the strike zone with zero walks and 63-of-88 pitches landing. Wrobleski is now 7-2 on the season, and he’s earned that mark with a 2.87 ERA over the first two months of the campaign. He’s set to face the Diamondbacks on Thursday

It was a rough start to the game for Wrobleski, who allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base. The third batter to reach base, William Contreras, did so via a three-run homer to give the Brewers an early 3-0 lead. He would allow one more run in the frame thanks to a sac fly by Sal Frelick, and gave up one more run in the second inning on an RBI double by Andrew Vaughn. Wrobleski wouldn’t allow another run over the next three innings, but the damage had been done and the Dodgers managed just one run on the evening. Wrobleski has been solid for most of the season, but has allowed five earned runs in two of his last three starts. Although, it’s worth nothing both of those starts game against two of the league’s top offenses. He gets a more favorable matchup in his next outing, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Rockies.