Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Pete Fairbanks struggled immediately upon entering the sixth inning, and many people brought their reactions to Twitter.
The Tampa Bay Rays are fighting in Game 2 of the Wild Card series to advance in the playoffs, but pitcher Pete Fairbanks, unfortunately, couldn’t help the cause much. Fairbanks was sent in to pitch in the sixth inning, and his first pitch was far from favorable, well above the catcher and umpire. He was taken out of the game after 11 pitches with complaints of not being able to feel his hand.
It’s unclear exactly what the issue he’s facing is, but his performance was certainly concerning. Several people took to Twitter their thoughts on his bizarre pitches as well as the Rays trying to stay in the playoffs.
Twitter reactions to Rays pitcher Pete Fairbanks’ performance
Fairbanks’ first pitch was insanely high, there was no hiding it. Mike Petriello of MLB.com Tweeted a photo of a pitch far above the strike zone and captioned it, “Pete Fairbanks has entered the game.”
Ryan Lewis, a Cleveland Guardians beat writer, had the same thoughts and pointed out that Fairbanks’ pitch was “so high it was barely able to be tracked.” He included a photo of the pitch barely in the picture because of how far out of the strike zone it was.
One fan disagreed with Rays manager Kevin Cash’s decision to put Fairbanks in so quickly and wrote, “Whoa they’re gonna go right to Fairbanks in the 6th. Gotta love Cash’s bullpen management haha.”
That was a common thought among fans, because another one wrote, “Cash is gonna burn Fairbanks in the sixth?”
Chris McNeil of Bigplay Reflog Tweeted a video of the pitch, which shows the ball soaring far above the batter’s head, clearly out of the strike zone.
Jomboy simply Tweeted, “Fairbanks, be cool man.” Clearly, the nerves appeared to be a factor, as well as whatever ailment Fairbanks is up against.
To top it off, one fan Tweeted a video of an opening pitch that was far off from the strike zone and captioned it, “Nobody: Pete Fairbanks, first pitch:”
Hopefully, Fairbanks is doing okay, but he probably should’ve sat this game out.