4 years agoPhiladelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado struck out three of four batters he faced in a Grapefruit League game Saturday against Toronto. Alvarado allowed a ground-rule double to lead off the inning, but tightened up after that whiffing the next three Blue Jays. The left-hander is coming off a lost 2020 season where he pitched to an ERA of six in only nine innings as he dealt with his second-straight injury-plagued season. Alvarez reportedly dropped 50 pounds this offseason and has looked great this spring, consistently hitting 98-100 MPH with his fastball. He's got 10 strikeouts and is allowing just a .143 batting average through six innings of Grapefruit League play putting him firmly in the mix to be the closer in Philly.--Mike Schwarzenbach - RotoBaller
Source: Matt Breen - Philadelphia Inquirer