46 Jose Alvarado RP

Alvarado (0-1) took the loss Saturday, giving up a run on two hits and a walk over one inning while striking out one as the Rays fell 6-5 to the Red Sox.

The Rays was down 5-0 after a big second inning by Boston, but they climbed out of the hole and tied it up in the bottom of the eighth, only to see their closer falter in the ninth. Alvarado hadn't given up a run in 10 appearances prior to Saturday, and his 17:5 K:BB through 10.1 innings is still excellent, so there's no cause for alarm in one hiccup.

Alvarado worked around a hit and a walk to earn the save after a scoreless ninth inning in Sunday's 3-0 win over San Francisco. He struck out one batter.

Alvarado put two runners on base but forced Brandon Crawford to ground out to finish off the team shutout. It was his fourth save of the season and he's yet to allow a run. The flamethrower is proving to be a legitimate, high-end closer this season.

Alvarado posted a strikeout, walk and hit while nailing down his third save of the season in a 5-2 victory against the Giants on Friday.

The Rays have used Alvarado in the eighth inning a couple times already, but he's still their best option in save situations. Alvarado has been perfect, pitching 5.0 shutout innings and going 3-for-3 in save chances to open the season. He has also struck out nine with two walks and three hits allowed in five innings.

Alvarado pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out the side, in a 1-0 loss to the Rockies on Wednesday.

Alvarado has been excellent to open the year. In four appearances, he's allowed only three baserunners and posted eight strikeouts with two saves in four innings. But in each of his last two outings, he pitched in the eighth inning. A couple games ago, Alvarado threw in the eighth during a lopsided win, and Wednesday, he took the mound in the eighth during a 0-0 game. It's not the ideal, traditional-closer usage, but Alvarado is pretty clearly the primary option for saves in Tampa Bay.

Alvarado struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to record his second save of the season in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Astros.

The fireballing lefty is off to a flying start as the Rays' closer, and he's giving manager Kevin Cash no reason to get creative with his late-game bullpen usage. As long as Alvarado is producing results, expect him to continue seeing the bulk of Tampa's save chances.