Fairbanks struggles as closer again

by Gary Shelton on April 18, 2024

in general

Fairbanks had a tough ninth./TIM WIRT

Thursday, 4 a.m.

He cannot shut the door. He cannot turn out the lights. He cannot nail the coffin.

Oh, the struggles of Pete Fairbanks continue.

The Tampa Bay Rays, it seemed, had done it again. They had taken another lead on the bat of Amed Rosario — who hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. And then came Fairbanks folly.






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Rosario gave the Rays a late lead./TIM WIRT

Fairbanks, whose control hasn’t been the same all season, gave the lead right back. In one inning, he gave up three hits, two walks, two stolen bases and two runs (another was out at the plate) as the Angels rallied one night after losing a 13-inning comeback to the Rays. Rosario had driven in the winning run in that one.

The Rays gave up their fourth home run of the year to Mike Trout, who is hitting .385 against the Rays. Taylor Ward had three hits.

For the Rays, Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Rosario all had two hits.

The Rays and Angels conclude their four-game series today at Tropicana Field at 1:10 p.m. Ryan Pepiot will start for the Rays against Griffin Canning.

Pinto tags Zach Neto out at home./TIM WIRT



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