Alvarado was credited with his first hold of the season in Thursday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Red Sox, firing a scoreless eighth inning in which he recorded two strikeouts.
Alvarado needed a scant eight pitches -- seven which found the strike zone -- to retire Eduardo Nunez, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vazquez. It was the burly southpaw's third scoreless effort over his first four appearances, building on what was an impressive spring during which he'd generated a 1.80 ERA across 10 trips to the mound. Alvarado's elite strikeout upside should continue to afford him plenty of setup work over the course of the season.