Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks leaves the game with an apparent shoulder injury

Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks due to injury.

As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported, Fairbanks was seen straining his throwing shoulder before the Rays' training staff came out to tend to the reliever. He was ultimately removed from the game in favor of Garrett Cleavinger.

Before he was substituted, Fairbanks spectacularly botched his second consecutive save.

Fairbanks entered the game with the Rays leading 6-3 when he entered the ninth inning, allowing a single by Jake McCarthy and then a walk by Joc Pederson that put two men on base early on.

Adrian Del Castillo took advantage of the traffic on the bases and hit a three-run, 406-foot home run to tie the score at 6-6.

Fairbanks struck out Kevin Newman and allowed a single by Geraldo Perdomo before calling a trainer to the mound.

The 30-year-old right-hander is currently 3-3 with a 3.57 ERA, a 1.169 WHIP, 23 saves and four blown saves this season.

Fairbanks started the 2024 season on shaky ground, going 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA, 2.286 WHIP and .296 batting average in March and April. However, over his next 36 appearances, Fairbanks went 2-1 with a 1.47 ERA, .818 WHIP and .172 batting average, making 20 of his 21 save opportunities.

That streak ended this weekend when Fairbanks allowed three hits, two earned runs and a home run against the Diamondbacks on Friday. Add that to his collapse on Sunday, and it's clear that Fairbanks' performance had been slipping even before his apparent shoulder injury.

Fairbanks' problems didn't stop the Rays, however, as Dylan Carlson hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning to end Sunday's matchup and give Tampa Bay a much-needed win over a red-hot Arizona team.

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