Wildness cost him the job in April. Three dominant appearances later, Alvarado may have finally pitched his way into the A's closer role
The A's series win over the Milwaukee Brewers is their first at home since the end of April, and it came against one of the best teams in the National League. Mason Barnett and Elvis Alvarado capped off the victories with their first career saves. The A's entered this homestand looking to ignite the offense. They may also have a new frontrunner for who should close games for them.
That man is Alvarado, who many pegged as a closer candidate over the offseason and during spring training. His bouts of wildness earlier in the year kept him from getting a real look after walking seven batters in 9 2/3 innings before being optioned to Triple-A.
While he's only been back up with the A's for three games, he's been dominant in those three appearances. Across 4 1/3 scoreless innings, the hard-throwing righty has given up just one hit with zero walks and struck out nine.
He's also shown that he can go multiple frames — collecting two innings of relief in Houston over the weekend — and then retired four batters on Tuesday and another three on Wednesday. Being able to be effective across multiple innings, getting more than three outs and being available back-to-back games opens up the bullpen options for Mark Kotsay.
"This is the best I've seen Elvis throw the ball," Kotsay told reporters after Wednesday's game. "Not only just at 100 mph, but commanding the baseball. The slider's got depth. The confidence is there."
Not only is Alvarado touching 100, he's averaged over 100 mph the past two games, sitting at 100.3 mph on Tuesday and 100.6 mph on Thursday. In his first game back in Houston he was still sitting at 98.2 mph in a mop-up role, which is closer to his season average.
Last homestand in Sacramento, Hogan Harris mentioned that his mentality didn't switch until he was put in leverage spots. Finding that mentality for him is the key to unlocking his best self on the mound. The past two games, Alvarado has been in leverage spots and his velocity has gone up by two ticks.
In these two relief appearances against the Brewers, Alvarado has also attacked them differently each time. In the first outing, he was throwing 50% fastballs and generated three whiffs on five swings. He showed them he has triple digits to play with, and made them have to gear up for it.
In the second outing, he threw 50% sliders, getting two whiffs on four swings. It doesn't matter what he was leaning on, batters were swinging and missing either way.
The most important factor: Alvarado threw first-pitch strikes to all seven batters he faced against Milwaukee. That will be the key to his success moving forward. Barnett's save was more of a necessity with a beleaguered bullpen after Monday's 15-14 slugfest. His role may be as a member of the rotation with Kade Morris' demotion this week.
The next three games against the Colorado Rockies could be a nice test for Alvarado in the closer role. With the altitude leading to plenty of offense the first three games of the Las Vegas Series, if he can close there, he can close anywhere.
