PHOENIX – On a day that began with the news that the Marlins would not get back All-Star starter Max Meyer down the stretch, things took an even worse turn as closer Pete Fairbanks walked off the mound in a ninth-inning save situation during Monday’s 8-7 loss to the D-backs at Chase Field.
Fairbanks landed the first pitch of his outing – a slider – for a called strike before missing badly on his next five offerings. He was visibly frustrated after his final pitch, flexing his right hand. It marked his second outing back off a stay on the injured list due to right median nerve irritation, an issue that has caused his hand to go numb after throwing a pitch.
“He’s certainly frustrated,” said manager Clayton McCullough. “I feel bad for Pete. He’s worked hard to try to come back from this, and then to go back out, second appearance off the IL, and have a similar feeling that he did, I feel for him right now.”
“To lose sensation and proprioception of your arm is never a fun thing,” said Fairbanks, who specified that he felt a sharp sensation in his right brachial plexus, an area in the neck that supplies nerve fibers to chest, shoulder, arm, forearm and hand. “There’s no precise way to figure out when it happens. I just start losing proprioception and the sleeping feeling comes back.”
The issue first popped up for Fairbanks during a relief appearance on April 27 at Dodger Stadium. He was placed on the injured list the following day with nerve irritation, returning just over two weeks later. He managed to pitch through the summer, but had to shut things down again after a five-pitch appearance Aug. 24.
Fairbanks unequivocally said that this latest bout of irritation was the worst that the injury has been.
“Having this is an impossibly frustrating thing to deal with,” said Fairbanks. “Because for the most part, the motor output is there. But everything else, physically or neurologically, whatever the proper word is, it’s just not there.”
Overall, it’s been a rocky year for Fairbanks, who inked a one-year, $13 million deal during the offseason to anchor the back of the bullpen. He entered the night with a 6.10 ERA, on pace to be the highest of his big league career since posting a 6.86 ERA across 21 innings in 2019.
Following Fairbanks’ departure, McCullough tabbed right-hander Jack Ralston to try to lock down his first Major League save. The rookie had ample time to warm up on the in-game mound, coming into a scenario with a one-run lead and a runner on first. After getting an out on a sacrifice bunt, Ralston hung a splitter to three-time All-Star Corbin Carroll, who deposited it far beyond the right-field fence for a walk-off two-run homer.
In a game that featured a matchup between the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner (Corbin Burnes) and the ‘22 winner (Sandy Alcantara), the offense took center stage as the two clubs see-sawed mostly crooked numbers in the box score. Jakob Marsee – who is 15-for-32 over his past eight games – came within a double of the cycle, and Javier Sanoja – who leads the Majors with a .347 batting average since Aug. 1 – starred on both sides of the ball before the late defeat, which spelled another blow to the Marlins’ dwindling 2026 postseason hopes.
“We did some really, really good things with the bats and some guys came through,” said McCullough. “Tough for it to get flipped and turned like it did.”
“Nothing feels good tonight,” said Alcantara, who scattered seven hits and four runs across five frames during the back-and-forth contest. “We just lost. … I think we [could] have won the game. Everybody feels bad.”