For the first time in four years, North Battleford’s Andrew Albers has earned a win as a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.
The 31-year-old made his season debut in the big leagues for the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night as the American League picked up a 3-1 win at home over the Baltimore Orioles.
It capped off a whirlwind last few days for Albers, who was acquired by the Mariners in a trade with the Atlanta Braves Friday for cash considerations to help bolster the team’s pitching depth following a number of injuries, most notably to staff aces Felix Hernandez and James Paxton.
“Luckily I was able to put us in a place with a chance to win and the bullpen shut the door,” Albers told the media after the game.
“It means a lot, but at the same time it’s more important that we just win ball games. So whether I get the win or someone else gets the win, it really doesn’t matter.”
Albers, who is the 16th different pitcher to start a game for the Mariners year, gave up a home run in the first inning to Jonathan Schoop but settled in and didn’t allow another run before he was pulled after 77 pitches.
In five innings of work, Albers gave up six hits, allowed one run, walked a batter and struck out four.
The Mariners bullpen shut out the Orioles the rest of the way, as the pitching staff combined to retire the final 20 batters of the night.
“That is the pitching plan we’ve been trying to do here lately,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “It starts with a guy who gets up there on a hill in the first inning and he’s got to give you a chance, which is what happened tonight.
“Andrew’s a very confident guy and he knows who he is. He’s not trying to overpower them. He’s going to throw his game.”
Albers last win in the majors came on Aug. 12, 2013, as he pitched a complete game two-hit shutout for the Minnesota Twins in a 3-0 triumph over the Cleveland Indians.
Prior to Friday’s trade, Albers had spent the season with the Gwinnett Braves of the International League.
During his time with the AAA farm team to the Atlanta Braves, he compiled a 12-3 record with a 2.61 earned run average in 120.2 innings of work.
In 26 appearances with the Braves, Albers had 115 strikeouts and walked only 19 batters.
“It’s hard to put into words right now,” Albers told the media Monday.
“You never know when these opportunities are going to come up or how many of them you are going to get.”
While the Braves are well out of the playoff mix, the Mariners are currently a game and a half back of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the second Wild Card spot in the American League.
With the Mariners rotation currently in flux, it’s not clear when Albers' next big league start will take place.
