Matt Albers, comeback ‘kid’
The Brewers reliever has become one of the most important parts of the bullpen at age 36.
If Matt Albers has taught us anything this season, it's that it's never too late to stage a comeback.
A year after injury and inconsistency had conspired to leave him seemingly on the scrap heap, the 36year-old has re-emerged to become one of the most important pieces in the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen.
Albers enters Tuesday's interleague series opener with the Minnesota Twins at Miller Park on a personal run of success that he hasn't experienced since early in 2018, having not allowed a run in 11 of his last 12 appearances.
And he's done so while filling a variety of roles on a team that hasn't caught many breaks with its pitching.
“It feels good to bounce back, obviously,” said Albers, who is 5-3 with a 3.93 earned run average after recording his career-high third save on Saturday.
“I felt like I could still pitch at a good level, I just needed to be healthy and be consistent. It's rewarding, it's fun to be able to help the team.
“We're right there in it. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
Albers was coming off a resurgent 2017 season with the Washington Nationals when he signed a twoyear, $5 million free-agent deal with the Brewers about two weeks before spring training.
He carried that performance over to the early portion of 2018, posting a 1.08 ERA and a save while limiting opposing batters to a .198 average in
his first 21 appearances before the wheels began to fall off.
Albers allowed runs in three of his next four outings, the final a five-run blowup in a loss to the Chicago Cubs that was immediately followed up by a six-week stint on the disabled list caused by shoulder inflammation.
He returned July 29 but was hit hard in each of his next four appearances and it was back to the DL, this time with a left hamstring strain.
Albers returned in late August but pitched only five more times – and not at all in one 21⁄2-week span – the rest of the way. He finished 3-3 with a 7.34 ERA and WHIP of 1.66 in 34 outings, a disaster by any measure.
Not surprisingly, Albers was left off both the National League Division Series and National League Championship Series rosters.
It was tough to guess where Albers fell in the bullpen pecking order initially this spring. But by the start of the season, with Corey Knebel lost to Tommy John surgery and Jeremy Jeffress on the injured list with shoulder weakness, it became obvious the Brewers were going to need him to fill an important role.
While he's had his ups and downs since, Albers has become one of manager Craig Counsell's glue guys along with fellow veteran Junior Guerra.
It's not unusual to see Albers pitching as early as the fifth inning, filling in for closer Josh Hader in the ninth when the left-hander is unavailable, or anywhere else in between. With the way the Brewers utilize their bullpen – relievers have thrown 4772⁄3 innings, most in the NL – that type of versatility is valuable.
“Matt's had a really good season, he really has,” Counsell said. “I think we've found a little niche for him that really works and that he's really good at and we'll keep him in that. Rest is going to be important for him coming up.
“But he's had a really valuable season for us. He's filled some valuable innings for us and as the season's gone on they've gotten bigger, and that's because he's pitched well.”
Albers has limited right-handed batters to a .198 average and a .528 OPS. With his average fastball velocity down to a career-low 92.2 mph, he's compensated by throwing his slider a careerhigh 33.5% of the time.
“I think the big thing is the slider,” Albers said. “You're trying to make it look like a pitch middle-in to a righty. That's
helped. And then just feeling good. I haven't changed anything with my sinker, but my arm is feeling a little better this year.
“I really notice it with the backdoor sinker to righties. I'm really able to finish that pitch. Last year, I would cut it off or overthrow it. I didn't really connect with that pitch.”
Part of the reason for Albers' success, Counsell said, is his ability to pitch to scouting reports. You don't pitch in the major leagues over a 14-year span without being able to do that.
You also have to learn to adapt. And with launch angles and home runs having overtaken the game, it comes as no surprise that Albers is leaning so heavily on his slider these days.
“You guys watch the game. Fastballs over the plate don't really come back,” Albers said. “You see the really analytical teams, their slider use is way, way up. So I think you just have to mix it up.
“It's throwing strikes early in the count and being able to put away with sliders. You see guys mixing it up a lot, probably throwing a few more changeups to lefties as well. Everybody is trying to get them off a fastball.”
Albers' last appearance Saturday was a reliever's dream. He entered a one-run game with a runner on, got a ground-ball double play on his second pitch and then another ground-ball out on his third to close out a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Oh yeah, and it also happened to be the 600th career appearance for the Houston native, whose first outing came for his hometown Astros in 2006 in a game started by Roger Clemens.
“It's pretty cool,” Albers said of the
milestone. “I've tried to stay healthy most of my career and be available, so to get to that number is a cool feeling. In the moment, you're not really thinking about that. It's a guy on, no outs in the ninth inning. That's what I'm focused on.
“But to look back, it's one of those things that you can enjoy.”