Albers!

Andrew Albers gave up no runs on four hits in eight and one-third innings in his major league debut last week. So what did he do LAST night in his second start for the Twins?

He pitched a two-hit complete-game shutout, that's what. Over 17 innings into his major league career and he still hasn't allowed a run of any kind. From a team that leads the majors in ERA among starters, this is a very pleasant situation to be in.

The defense behind him was outstanding. Dozier, Florimon, and Thomas all tuned in web gems supporting the rookie hurler.

And the Twins streak of scoring on nothing but homeruns also continued. Minnesota's last 22 runs have all come off  homers. Dozier and Plouffe provided the long balls and RBI last night.

If Deduno can become less stressed, and Correia can become a tad more consistent, the Twins MIGHT have the makings of a good rotation for next year. With less than 50 games left, the Twins find themselves 10 games below .500. I'd still ike to see them finish strong enough to finish around .500 on the season. We're mired in third place in the division, and that spot is most likely not going to change either way. But a strong finish will keep Twins fans coming to the games, and also keep them watching on TV. If nothing else, the Twins right now are doing much better than I expected this year.  I'm even starting to develop an inkling of hope for the future.

Until Albers was called up, I didn't even have that.