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.