While many Roughriders fans flooded to Winnipeg, Man. over the weekend for the Banjo Bowl, others could be found in Minneapolis, Minn. for a game between the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays.
Roughrider green was visible in the stadium for the weekend series, and that's because North Battleford's Andrew Albers was facing the Toronto Blue Jays for the first time in his young career.
While some might show signs of nervousness pitching in a game being broadcast across their home country, Albers looked as comfortable as ever. The left-hander pitched a gem, throwing seven shutout innings against a Toronto team that had beat up the Twins in the two games prior, scoring a combined 17 runs.
While Albers typically gets his outs when batters put the ball in play, he managed to throw five strikeouts in Sunday's game.
It was a much-needed bounce back game for the rookie after coming off the worst start of his career when he allowed five earned runs without getting through the second inning Sept. 2 against the Astros.
His 97 pitches through seven innings meant Albers didn't get the chance to pitch a complete game and go for the shutout against the Blue Jays. The decision to pull him backfired as relief pitcher Jared Burton came in and gave up two runs in his single inning of work. The Twins couldn't mount a comeback as Toronto's quartet of pitchers kept Minnesota off the board for a 2-0 victory.
The shutout innings dropped Albers' ERA to 3.35 from 3.96. After not issuing a free pass to any Jays batters, Albers' three walks in 45 innings are a good sign for a young pitcher, as he's obviously had no worries about challenging big league batters with pitches in the strike zone.
His next taste of action should come against the Tampa Bay Rays in another weekend series.
