Angels' Jose Alvarez: Notches third hold Thursday

Alvarez fired a scoreless inning on his way to his third hold of the season against the Athletics on Thursday.

Analysis:

Alvarez earned a spot on the 25-man roster this spring and he has impressed early on, posting a 2.35 ERA with eight strikeouts over 7.2 innings. The 27-year-old should see a handful of hold opportunities while serving as the Angels' top left-handed option out of the 'pen. That said, the southpaw hadn't posted an ERA below 3.45 in either of the last two seasons across 174.1 innings with the Angels, so he may be pitching a little bit over his head right now.