By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

Lefty Mark Buehrle was often referred to as the fastest working man in show business ... or baseball for that matter.

Buehrle never shook off his catcher, did not deliberate before going into his motion and threw a ton of strikes.

Some people have compared Hyun Jin Ryu to Buehrle. But we see a more fitting comparison as David Wells.

Both Buehrle (6-foot-2) and Albers (6-foot-1) are similar in stature but where they really look like one another is the pace they pitch at.

Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) pitched seven scoreless as the Orix Buffaloes blanked the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-0 before 4,893 at the Kyocera Dome.

A string of seven zeros is nothing knew for Albers, who picked up his third win, but from first pitch to last took all of two hours and 42 minutes. That is working at a Buehrle-like pace.

The effort earned Albers the Canadian Baseball Network player of the week. Albers allowed seven base runners (six hits, one walk), while striking out six.

Taisei Urushihara and Ryoga Tomiyama each put up a scoreless inning.

The Buffaloes are a Nippon pro team formed following the 2004 NPB season by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan and the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Best Offensive Performances

Player / Class / Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Jamie Romak - FGN SK Wyverns 23 3 8 1 5 .348

Ryan Johnson - FGN Solingen 10 3 4 1 5 .400

(Minimum 10 AB’s required)

Best Pitching Performances

ANDREW ALBERS LHP - JAPAN ORIX BUFFALOES

APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA

1 7.0 6 - - 1 6 1-0 - 1.00 0.00

Andre Albers continues to pitch well for Orix in Japan’s Pacific League and this week in a 5-0 win over Lotte Chiba Mariners, he threw seven scoreless innings surrendering six hits while striking out six Lotte batters, to earn his third win of the season. His record with the Buffaloes in 10 appearances now stands at 3-5 with a 3.62 ERA.

EVAN RUTCKYJ LHP - FGN MUNCHEN-HAAR DISCIPLES

APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA

1 7.0 5 - - 2 13 1-0 - 0.71 0.00

Evan Rutckyj is currently active in his 11th season as a pro and the 28 year old native of Windsor, Ont. had an excellent outing this week for Munchen-Haar in the German Bundesliga. In a 5-0 victory over Mannheim Toronados, he threw seven innings gave up five base hits and no runs while striking out 13 Mannheim batters, to earn his second win of the season. His overall record with the Disciples in four pitching appearances is now 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA.

Moves & Transactions

RHP Dylan Rheault, Garson, ON - Released by Winnipeg Goldeyes IND American Association.

INF Eric Wood, Pickering, ON - Released by Winnipeg Goldeyes IND American Association.

RHP Matt Brash, Kingston, Ont. Canada’s first capital - Traded by the San Diego Padres to the Seattle Mariners. In his 2019 Rookie Season he was active with Padres affiliates at Single A Ft. Wayne TinCaps and Rookie Class AZL Padres.

Previous winners

Week X _ LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) Orix Buffaloes.

Week VIX _ 1B Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns.

Week VIII _ INF Wes Darvill (Langley, BC) Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Week VII _ INF Wes Darvill (Langley, BC) Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Week VI _ OF Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) Chicago Dogs.

Week V _ OF Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) Chicago Dogs.

Week IV _ 1B Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns.

Week III _ OF Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) Chicago Dogs.

Week II _ LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) Orix Buffaloes.

Week I _ 1B Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns.