Since his Major League Baseball career began just under a month ago, Andrew Albers has faced little in the way of adversity.
However, the left-hander from North Battleford wasn't able to find the same success he was used to when he took on the Houston Astros Monday.
It took only three pitches for the last place Astros to put the Minnesota Twins on notice that they weren't to be taken lightly. Leadoff batter Robbie Grossman doubled off a 1-1 sinker in the first. He was quickly moved to third on a bunt single by Jose Altuve. With two on and none out, all-star catcher Jason Castro singled home Grossman to give Houston an early lead. Two more singles in the inning pushed the score to 3-0 before Albers was able to get out of the first.
A Trevor Plouffe home run in the top of the second cut the lead down to 3-1, but it wasn't enough of a momentum shift to help Albers get into a groove.
With Grossman and Altuve on base once again in the bottom of the second inning, Castro hit his second RBI single of the game to left field, making it 4-1. After Matt Dominguez struck out, Chris Carter doubled home Houston's fifth run. It was the last batter Albers would face, as he was replaced by Anthony Swarzak.
Five runs and nine hits after an inning and two-thirds pushed Albers' ERA up to 3.96.
Minnesota was able to come back for a 10-6 victory, meaning Albers' record didn't change from 2-2 through six starts in the big leagues.
It's worth noting that the Twins will host a series against the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend, which could see Albers take on Canada's lone MLB team.
