If there was any concern that North Battleford pitcher Andrew Albers would struggle once MLB batters were familiar with him, he partially put it to rest Wednesday night.
Taking on the Kansas City Royals, the team he faced in his big league debut, Albers dazzled once again.
Wednesday, the left-hander threw seven solid innings allowing three runs, only two of which were earned. Albers gave up six hits and didn't walk a single batter, which has become a recurring theme in his young career. All three runs came off home runs. The first was a solo bomb by Royals' outfielder Alex Gordon in the third inning. In the fourth, Billy Butler reached on a Trevor Plouffe error and catcher Salvador Perez followed it up with a home run of his own.
After a couple tough games against the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers in which he allowed five earned runs in each game, Albers got back on track with his second solid outing against the Royals this season.
In his first game against Kansas City, Aug. 6, Albers threw into the ninth inning allowing no runs and only four hits. Now through five games in the majors, he's been as hot as the August weather. Albers has thrown 37 innings with 12 earned runs, giving him a 2.92 ERA. His 13 strike outs don't jump off the page, but his four base on balls do as he's consistently peppered the strike zone against big league batters, something young pitchers often struggle to do.
Despite Albers' performance, he still got pinned with the loss, giving him a 2-2 record. The Twins' offence was silenced by the trio of Royals' pitchers Danny Duffy, Luke Hochevar and Aaron Crow. The lone Twins' run was a solo home run by Canadian Justin Morneau in the ninth inning. The team mustered only six hits and struck out 10 times, giving Albers no chance at a victory. To make matters worse, the bullpen for Minnesota allowed five runs over two innings.
The 27-year-old Albers has arguably been Minnesota's best pitcher since he was called up at the beginning of August, providing much-needed assistance to the Twins' rotation. Minnesota has the worst ERA in the MLB from its starting pitchers, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays at 5.04. Albers, in limited time, leads the Twins with his 2.92 ERA. Samuel Deduno is the only other starting pitcher on the team with an ERA under four, his is 3.69.
