Barnes pitched a perfect ninth inning Tuesday, striking out two in Boston's 8-3 win over Colorado.
Coming in for a clean inning with a five-run lead is pretty low-leverage stuff, but Barnes was impressive Tuesday, hitting 99 mph on the gun while mowing down the heart of the Rockies' order on two Ks and a weak come-backer. The right-hander has been entrusted in more high-leverage spots of late -- he's stranded all but one of 14 inherited runners -- and has not allowed a run in eight of his last 10 appearances. At a time when Boston learned it will be without Carson Smith (Tommy John surgery) for the rest of the season, manager John Farrell is expected to lean more on Barnes for setup work.