BALTIMORE — With Daniel Gossett’s callup Wednesday to start against the Orioles, Chris Smith is returning to a relief role.
Smith has been a fun story this year, making his first big-league start at the age of 36, the oldest-ever pitcher to make his first start in A’s history. But he’s been a little homer-prone lately, allowing six over his past three starts, and his ERA shot up from 3.32 following his third start to 5.56 after his past five appearances.
Paul Blackburn’s status for his next start is still unclear, however, so Smith might wind up an option in the event Blackburn can’t go Monday at Anaheim.