The Tampa Bay Rays lost Monday's series opener against the Texas Rangers by a score of 3-2, falling victim to a rare walk-off wild pitch by closer Pete Fairbanks.
Fairbanks entered with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth before allowing a leadoff double to rookie sensation Josh Jung. Although Fairbanks retired the next two batters, pinch-runner Josh H. Smith advanced to third on a ground ball to second.
The count was 1-1 when Fairbanks rifled a low 100-mile-per-hour fastball right past catcher Christian Bethancourt, who didn't even have time for a play at the plate after corralling the ball off the backstop. Smith came across to score and ran right into the home dugout to celebrate with his teammates.
Fairbanks entered Monday with a 1.47 ERA, which went up to 1.89 following his errant pitch against the Rangers. After throwing a wild pitch every 7.2 innings in 2020 and 2021, Fairbanks had only thrown a wild pitch once every 21.1 innings over the past two seasons.
The 29-year-old reliever – who was initially drafted by the Rangers in 2015 – had only allowed one earned run across across his previous 11 outings.
As a result, the Rays were unable to welcome back two of their All-Stars with a victory.
First baseman Yandy Diaz was activated off of the paternity list early on Monday, having not suited up for Tampa Bay since before the All-Star break. Ace Shane McClanahan was also activated off of the 15-day injured list Monday, making his first start since June 30.
Diaz finished the night 1-for-4, leading off the game with a single and eventually coming around to score. The Rays were up 2-0 after two innings, but could not generate much offensively for the rest of the contest.
McClanahan tossed 6.0 innings with six strikeouts and no walks. The AL Cy Young contender had a scoreless one-hitter entering the sixth, but then he gave up a game-tying two-run shot to left fielder Ezequiel Duran.
The two sides combined for two hits in their next 21 plate appearances, and it all came down to Fairbanks' wild pitch with Jung on third in the bottom of the ninth.
A loss for the Rays could have meant losing their grip on first place in the AL East, had the Baltimore Orioles not lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 a mere 18 minutes earlier.
Game two between the Rays and Rangers is scheduled for Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. ET right back at Globe Life Field.
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