Barnes worked around a walk to record a hold in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Astros. He struck out two while pitching the eighth inning.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes had a notable loss Saturday when he failed to retire any batters in the ninth inning. Manager Alex Cora on Sunday used Barnes to face the bottom of the Astros order, telling Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald that he can't always have Barnes consistently face the middle of an opponent's order. "We've been talking about this, usage and whatever they call it his role," Cora said. "But people get caught up on the whole closing thing and using the guy in the high-leverage situation, but he needs to face some guys that they're not the 3, 4, 5 hitters all the time. It's a grind for him." Marcus Walden followed Barnes and registered the save for Boston while facing batters 4, 5 and 6. Cora will continue to deploy his late-inning options depending on which part of an opponent's order is due up but there are times when Barnes will get a break.

Barnes (2-1) was handed the loss Saturday at Houston when he failed to record an out in the walkoff defeat. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes entered in a 3-3 tie after the Red Sox managed to knot things up in the top of the ninth inning, but he ran into trouble immediately by giving up a double on his second pitch. The 28-year-old never had his command Saturday with only seven of his 18 pitches finding the strikezone. Barnes has a 2.25 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 36:6 K:BB through 20 innings this season.

Barnes allowed one hit and three inherited runners to score over two-thirds of an inning in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning victory over the Rockies.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes came on as a fireman in the seventh inning after Eduardo Rodriguez loaded the bases with none out and was unable to douse the threat. He expended 26 pitches over two strong innings the previous night but did not have the same curveball Wednesday. Barnes was tagged with a third blown save, which can happen when a manager uses a closer in a high-leverage spot during the middle of an inning.

Barnes had one strikeout and one walk over 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the save in Tuesday's 8-5 win at Baltimore.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes entered with two outs in the eighth inning and the tying run on base, but escaped with a strikeout. The Red Sox tacked on a pair of insurances runs in the ninth inning to make it a relatively easy save for the 28-year-old. Barnes has a 1.88 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 27:4 K:BB over 14.1 innings and has converted 3-of-5 save chances, as he should continue to be utilized as a high-leverage option by manager Alex Cora.

Barnes got the final two outs of Monday's 9-4 win over the A's to record his second save of the season.

EDGE Analysis

Hector Velazquez began the ninth inning for Boston and loaded the bases with one out, creating the barest minimum definition of a save chance for Barnes with the tying run on deck for Oakland. The right-hander needed only two pitches -- a fly out by Stephen Piscotty and a fielder's choice grounder by Khris Davis -- to squelch the threat. Barnes now has a 2.25 ERA and outstanding 23:3 K:BB through 12 innings with two wins, two saves and four holds in 12 appearances, and he'll likely continue to see usage in high-leverage spots rather than being reserved exclusively for save situations.

Barnes (2-0) allowed one run on one hit and struck out three in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Rays.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes came on to start the eighth inning with Boston ahead by a run but served up a leadoff home run to Yandy Diaz. Manager Alex Cora has used Barnes early in games previously, but that was in a fireman-type situation with runners on base or when a game was tied. This was the first time he was brought in early to start an inning with Boston leading. At this point, fantasy owners should be targeting Ryan Brasier for saves, although Barnes will get opportunities, too.

Barnes allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning of Sunday's 4-0 win over the Orioles.

EDGE Analysis

This was heading toward a save situation, so manager Alex Cora had Barnes warming as Boston held a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning. After the Red Sox plated three in the bottom of the ninth, the manager had Barnes preserve the victory in a non-save situation. Ryan Brasier pitched the eighth inning when the lower third of Baltimore's order was due up, which aligns with how Cora's deployed his late-inning relievers in previous games. Barnes has entered games earlier than the ninth inning for pivotal moments when opponents have their stronger part of the order due up.

Barnes earned his second hold of the season Friday night, coming on to get the final out of the seventh inning.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes had the rare one-out, two-strikeout appearance, as the first batter he struck out reached on a wild pitch. More importantly, he came into the game in the seventh and Ryan Brasier got the save, thanks to Tyler Thornburg giving up two runs in the ninth. Barnes still could get save chances in more conventional situations, but it's clear that when the Red Sox want to use the "ace reliever" concept in earlier innings, they'll turn to Barnes.

Barnes pitched two perfect innings Sunday, striking out two batters and earning his first hold in a 1-0 win over Arizona.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes has been used in a non-save situation in each of his last two outings, with Ryan Brasier picking up a save in both of those appearances. It appears that the 28-year-old will work mostly in high-leverage situations as opposed to being the team's main closer. Still, it's early in the year and both Barnes and Brasier are worth owning until the picture is a bit clearer.

Barnes (1-0) entered Wednesday's game in the seventh inning and pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings in a 6-3 victory over Oakland.

EDGE Analysis

Barnes was called on in a high-leverage spot and struck out Khris Davis with curveball. He went on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning and was the pitcher of record when Boston went ahead in the ninth. Manager Alex Cora will apparently use Barnes in non-save situations that the manager deems important regardless of the inning. Ryan Brasier earned the save.