ALLIE GOULDING | TimesTampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jose Alvarado (46) sits in the dugout after being removed from the mound at the top of the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins on Friday, May 31, 2019 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Struggling reliever Jose Alvarado threw a scoreless ninth inning on Saturday, which was the good news. The bad news is that he’s still living dangerously by falling behind in the count. He fell behind both Miguel Sano and Ehire Adrianza 3-1 before striking them out. He made some big pitches, getting Sano looking on a 98-mph fastball at the letters and Adriana swung through a cutter, but Alvarado is leaving little margin for error by falling behind.