Rays Notebook: Tempers Flare After Fairbanks Strikeout
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pete Fairbanks is the first to admit that he plays the game of baseball with a lot of passion and emotion. Ol' Crazy Eyes can boil over sometimes, too.
That happened on Saturday after a misunderstanding between Fairbanks, Baltimore Orioles catcher Robinson Chirinos and home plate umpire Andy Fletcher.
While batting in the eighth inning, Chirinos asked for a timeout but Fletcher waited a second before granting it. By the time he did, Fairbanks was already in his motion, ready to throw home. He to stumble to a stop, and wasn't happy about it. He was ticked at Chirinos.
Fletcher tapped his own chest, taking the blame for the late call, but by then, Fairbanks was already walking back up the mound and didn't see it. So when he struck out Chirinos on the next pitch, he gave the veteran catcher an earful.
Chirinois chirped back, and then — suddenly — both benches emptied.
"Yeah, there was a late time call," Fairbanks said. "I took offense. Apparently I misunderstood who had called time, where it came from. Apparently it was the umpire, not Chirinos. I, as you guys know, can be a little fiery. So I think that that might have caused some things today.
"I grew up playing basketball. He said some things to me, I said some things to him. I thought it was a fairly normal exchange of talking. I didn't think that they were going to empty that fast. I did not think that what was said back and forth between us warranted everybody sprinting out there, but I'm not the one that took offense in the dugout. It is what it is. Baseball is not quite the back-and-forth talking sport that you might get elsewhere, so that's part of it and it's to be noted and we move on."
"I don't know, man," the veteran Chirinos said. "He's wild, everybody in the league knows that. I called a timeout and (umpire) Andy (Fletcher) called it late. It was not my fault. I guess he thought it was my fault I called that timeout late. And then we lost that game, so it doesn't matter. I don't care about it."
With two outs in the ninth inning, Rays reliever Jimmy Yacabonis hit Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle with a pitch, but both sides stayed calm and nothing escalated. The two teams meet again on Sunday for the final time during the regular season.
Tough debut for Orioles' rookie DL Hall
The Baltimore Orioles have a cool tradition when it comes to welcoming rookies to the big leagues, and left-hander pitcher DL Hall got the full treatment before Saturday's game, with all of his teammates lining up to greet him as he went out to the bullpen to warm up for his first start.
Hall is the 12th Oriole to make his debut this season and the seventh pitcher as the young Baltimore club looks to stay competitive in the AL playoff race. The 23-year-old left-hander pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up five runs, but had six strikeouts.
"It was a real blessing," Hall said. "This is something I dreamt of since I was four years old. It didn't go the way you quite picture it, but it was still a blessing to be able to call yourself a big leaguer and get to experience that. It was unbelievable.
"I'd say I was pretty nervous. I woke up this morning and it all hit me at once, and coming to the field it just kind of continued to build. Those first couple batters, I told a few guys, I was like, 'Man, I couldn't even feel my body really,' so it was crazy."
The Orioles sent Hall back to Triple-A Norfolk after the game, with a plan to have him return as a reliever in a few weeks. He's a projected 2023 starter as the Orioles continue their rebuild.
"They have a plan and I trust in it. I'm going to go down and work on what I need to work on, and hopefully come back and prove that I belong to be here. I'm just going to attack it the same way," said Hall, who's a Valdosta, Ga. native. "You see the light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully I can iron some things out and come show what I can do up here."
"The big thing for me is to just go after guys and I'm just going to continue to do that in a relief role. This is a great team, a great group of guys, and to see them winning like they are is super exciting, and I hope to be able to come back as soon as possible and help them to continue to win."
DL Hall made his major-league debut for the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. It didn't go well, giving up five runs in 3 2/3 innings, but he'll be back soon. (USA TODAY Sports)
Small turnout for big game
Saturday's announced attendance was just 16,823, which is somewhat surprising considering the magnitude of the game — there's a playoff spot at stake — and the starting pitchers on the mound.
Home attendance for Saturday games this season has been pretty good, which made Saturday's turnout all the more surprising. This was the 10th home game on a Saturday, with an average crowd of 19,012 prior to Saturday. The Aug. 13 crowd ranks just seventh out of the 10 games.
Here's how the crowd ranked for Saturday showing this season:
- 25,025 — May 28 vs. New York Yankees (sellout)
- 22,756 — July 30 vs. Cleveland Guardians
- 19,886 — July 16 vs. Baltimore Orioles
- 19,452 — June 4 vs. Chicago White Sox
- 19,137 — April 23 vs. Boston Red Sox
- 18,846 — April 30 vs. Minnesota Twins
- 16,823 — Aug. 13 vs. Baltimore Orioles
- 15,615 — April 9 vs. Baltimore Orioles
- 15,203 — June 25 vs, Pittsburgh Pirates
- 15,195 — May 14, vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Around the horn
- YU CHANG: ... Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash filled his lineup with right-handed hitters on Saturday against Baltimore rookie DL Hall, and he even had second baseman Yu Chang batting leadoff. That's the first time Chang has done that in 117 major-league starts. The move paid off. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and drove in two runs, one with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and a single in the sixth.
- INJURY UPDATE: ... Harold Ramirez, who has been out with a fractured right thumb since July 18, took batting practice and fielded some ground balls at first base before Saturday’s game. He said after the game on Saturday night that he was leaving for Triple-A Durham on Sunday to play some rehab games. He's on the 10-day injured list, so he's eligible to return at any time. He has played in 78 games this year and leads the Rays with a .329 batting average. He has four home runs and 35 RBIs on the season ... Outfielder Manuel Margot, who is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on Aug. 20, has been sent to Durham to get some game action in. He is scheduled to play on Saturday night. He's been out since June 21 with a right knee patellar tendon strain. Margot was hitting .302 when he got hurt. He's played in 51 games this season.
- SUNDAY'S MATCHUP: ... The 19th and final game on the schedule between the Rays and Orioles will be on Sunday at Tropicana Field. Drew Rasmussen (6-4, with a 2.96 ERA) will start for the Rays. Jordan Lyles (9-8, 4.35 ERA) will start for Baltimore.
