about-face

Things were going well for Drew Pomeranz in his role as a relief pitcher. Twenty appearances, a 1.56 ERA. Well, forget that. The big left-hander out of Ole Miss is back in the Oakland rotation. He made an emergency start on Thursday – after the A’s traded Scott Kazmir – and it didn’t go so well. Eight batters faced. Two hits, a walk, two runs allowed (on a home run). The A’s wound up losing 5-2 to Toronto. Pomeranz now has a 4.67 ERA in nine starts this season. Thursday’s was his first since May 18. The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Pomeranz is with his third organization; he is 13-21 with a 4.14 ERA. He has always had trouble going deep into games as a starter. The move to the pen this season, which followed a stint on the disabled list, seemed like a good idea. And the results were good. Now he’ll have to readjust to starting for a team that’s out of the postseason hunt. “In five days I hope I’ll polish up a few things,” he told the San Jose Mercury News. Pomeranz’s next start figures to come against the Los Angeles Dodgers. P.S. David Goforth, another ex-UM star, was recalled by Milwaukee on Thursday and pitched in relief against Arizona. Didn’t go well for him either. Three hits, a walk and two runs allowed in one inning. Meridian native Goforth now has a 5.40 ERA in his five MLB appearances.