Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Pete Fairbanks had a rough outing on Wednesday night, and no one seemed more disgusted about it than him.
Fairbanks came on in the top of the ninth inning with the Rays leading 4-3 in their game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. After getting Luis Rengifo to ground out, Fairbanks surrendered a single to Nolan Schanuel and then walked Zach Neto. The runners advanced to second and third on a double-steal before Anthony Rendon’s single tied the game at 4-4.
The Angels then intentionally walked Mike Trout. Taylor Ward followed with an RBI single to drive in Rendon and give L.A. a 5-4 lead before Fairbanks got out of the inning. The Rays were unable to orchestrate a comeback in the bottom of the ninth.
After blowing the save, Fairbanks was asked in the clubhouse if there was anything specific he felt he did wrong. The right-hander said he “generally sucked.”
“I thought it generally sucked. I didn’t think it was a specific suck, I thought it was like an all-encompassing type of suck,” Fairbanks said. “So, we’re gonna try and rectify that, but right now I’m gonna be pretty pissed about it.”
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Fairbanks also said he was not going to beat himself up over the outing for too long but would give it at least 16 more minutes “of sulk” until the clock hit 10 p.m.
Though he has three saves this season, Fairbanks has not pitched well overall. He has given up 8 hits and 7 earned runs in 7 appearances. That is why he was so frustrated after blowing the game on Wednesday night.
