Although it is a very small sample, Albers' recent work has given them some hope that patience has paid off.
Albers, who gave up an astounding 23 runs in just 17 innings at one point, has thrown three scoreless, hitless innings over his last three appearances. It does not mean he is back to being the guy that steamrolled through the first four months of the year, but it may give Terry Francona a little more trust in his right-hander.
"It's good because we need him," Francona said. "He's been such a pivotal part of that bullpen. Getting him back, even if his ERA's going to be a little high, if he's throwing the ball like he can that's going to really help."
In nine appearances from Aug. 26 through Sept. 15, the height of Albers' issues, he was brought into games with the team trailing eight times, often by several runs. They were tied in the one other.
However, Francona has used Albers to help protect a slim lead in each of his last two outings. Much of that has to do with the fact that the starters have given so few innings and Francona is forced to use most of his bullpen options at one time or another, but given where Albers was just a week or two ago it stands as a notable development.
