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NYY@CLE: Kluber escapes danger to survive five frames

With Dan Strailey not eligible to return from Triple-A until Thursday and A.J. Griffin still needing to be stretched out, A's manager Bob Melvin didn't have a ton of options for his Wednesday starter against the Indians.

With that in mind, Travis Blackley will get his 12th start of the season in what will be his 19th appearance.

"We just felt like we're better off going with a guy who's more stretched out at this point," Melvin said. "He has done this a number of times, whether it's starting, long relieving. He's been really good for us in a number of roles. Not only that, but he probably deserves the start."

Does that mean Blackley has earned his way into the rotation for good? Melvin was noncommittal when asked, saying they'd evaluate as the season progressed. Either way, Blackley is enjoying the ride he's had this year with the A's.

"The only team I think I can compare this team to would be my Australian team," Blackley said. "We were all pretty young and not that many old guys on the team. We always took that 'prove you wrong' attitude into every we did, and I feel like this team does that, too. We've been under the radar most of the year, and when we are talked about, we're pretty much told we're not going to be there in the end. I think we take it to heart, and we try to prove them wrong."

The Indians have a pitcher of their own bouncing between the bullpen and rotation: Chris Seddon. The left-hander has started two of his seven games with the Tribe this season.

His value was shown on Monday, when he went 4 2/3 innings of relief after starter Roberto Hernandez was forced to exit the game with a right ankle injury in the third.

"He gave us a huge lift," manager Manny Acta said. "He throws strikes. He attacks the zone with four pitches. He showed some of that [on Monday]."

A's: Starters not issuing walks
• A's starting pitchers have walked two or fewer batters in each of their past 24 games, which is the longest streak in franchise record. Furthermore, Oakland's 203 total walks is the fewest in the American League this year.

• Coco Crisp was not in the lineup on Tuesday after fouling a ball off his right foot the previous night. The outfielder's X-rays came back negative, though, and he is listed as day to day.

Indians: Worst record in AL since break
• The Indians' did nothing to improve their second-half swoon on Tuesday with a loss to the A's. They are 11-33 (.250) since the All-Star break, the worst record in the American League and second-worst in the Majors, behind the Astros.

• Corey Kluber makes his sixth start of the season on Wednesday. The righty is 0-2 with a 5.32 ERA this season, but has a 0.90 ERA in his last two starts.

Worth noting
• Neither starting pitcher for Wednesday's game has ever faced a batter on the opposing team.

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