Tampa Bay Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks on Friday had a gripe over his grip on the baseball, blaming the humidor at Coors Field.
Fairbanks took issue with the variability of the balls after he issued three walks in the ninth inning, paving the way for Ryan McMahon’s walk-off grand slam as the Colorado Rockies rallied for a 10-7 victory in their home opener.
“They were horrible. You can mark that down in all caps for me — horrible,” Fairbanks said of the baseballs. “No excuse, though.”
Photo: AFP
The Rockies installed a humidor room at Coors Field in 2002 to control the moisture level in baseballs, which helps keep them from becoming dried out in Denver’s thin air.
It does take some getting used to. The Rays have not been in Mile High City for a series since 2016 and play at sea level at home.
“There’s definitely a difference. It’s definitely different,” said Rockies pitcher Peter Lambert, who threw two scoreless innings. “Sometimes, it can be a little more dry and the ball can feel a little more chalky, for sure.”
Photo: AFP
Fairbanks started the ninth by walking Jake Cave, Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones. In all, the right-hander threw 17 pitches — five for strikes — without getting an out.
He was replaced by Jason Adam, who struck out Kris Bryant before giving up the grand slam to McMahon.
“That’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes,” said Fairbanks, whose team rallied in the ninth from a four-run deficit to take a 7-6 lead. “You get punished for it. So I’d love to see those come out of the humidor [in game 2] in a little better shape before they get rubbed up, but there’s nobody to blame but myself for not being able to adjust to some of the quality issues.”
Asked if the baseballs were too wet or dry, Fairbanks said: “They were just overall bad. I’m not going to elaborate further than that.”
“They were not uniform from ball to ball,” he added. “Just dry, smooth, whatever you want to say.”
Elsewhere on Friday, it was:
‧ Angels 6, Red Sox 8
‧ Braves 6, Diamondbacks 5
‧ Brewers 6, Mariners 5
‧ Cubs 9, Dodgers 7
‧ Giants 3, Padres 2
‧ Nationals 0, Phillies 4
‧ Pirates 2, Orioles 5
‧ Rangers 10, Astros 2
‧ Reds 2, Mets 3
‧ Royals 2, White Sox 1
‧ Tigers 5, Athletics 4
‧ Yankees 0, Blue Jays 3
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS