Barlow (1-0) allowed one walk and struck out two over a scoreless 1.1 innings to earn the win over Seattle on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

Barlow was the pitcher warming in the bullpen when Matt Bush was attempting to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning, but he was needed earlier than anticipated. After the Mariners tied the game against Bush, Barlow shut down the rally then benefited from Texas' two-run, ninth inning rally to pick up his first win of the season. The takeaway here is that Barlow was in position to pick up the save. The Rangers' closer situation has been unsettled, but it looks like Barlow is now in the mix to close games. This is a positive development after manager Chris Woodward indicated during spring training that he didn't want to put the pressure of closing games on a reliever with limited MLB experience.