MIAMI -- The Marlins on Tuesday afternoon placed closer Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list due to right median nerve irritation, a day after the injury forced him to exit in the ninth inning of Monday night’s 4-2 loss to the Red Sox at loanDepot park.
Fairbanks, who walked leadoff batter Mickey Gasper, motioned to the dugout on his fifth and final pitch -- a 96 mph four-seamer. He didn’t attempt any warmup throws before departing with manager Clayton McCullough and a member of the training staff.
“It just kind of sneaks up on you,” Fairbanks said. “Warming up you feel fine, you feel fine throughout the day, you'll try and let one go, and all of a sudden it just kind of spirals on itself. So it's hard to pinpoint which one does it when it is just something that kind of compounds on itself.”
This marks the second time this season Fairbanks has dealt with nerve irritation, previously experiencing it during an outing at Dodger Stadium that landed him on the injured list on April 28. He was later reinstated from the IL on May 13.
Unlike last time, Fairbanks said he felt the numbness not just in his fingers but throughout his whole arm. Like last time, Fairbanks was planning on visiting the same specialist in Pensacola, Fla.
“Hopefully I can get up there and we can shoot me up with a bunch of stuff that lets me get back in the ‘pen and throwing the ball over the plate,” Fairbanks said. “And, most importantly, feeling my hand and knowing where it's going.”
Added McCullough on Tuesday: "We just have to wait till those results come in to see what the timeline might be. I think best case, we're hoping like last time, five or six days later he was back on the mound throwing. We'll hope for that, but [we] really won't be able to try to map or plan anything out until we get some results from this most recent exam."
Fairbanks’ setback comes at an inopportune time, with the club 4 1/2 games back of the Padres for the final National League Wild Card spot with 30 games remaining in the regular season. Entering Monday’s series opener, Fairbanks had given up just one run on two hits with four walks and 16 strikeouts over his last 10 outings. During that stretch, he had secured saves in five of his six chances.
Righty Tyler Zuber took over from Fairbanks with the game tied at 2 and proceeded to give up the go-ahead triple to Anthony Seigler and an RBI single to Nick Sogard.
In Fairbanks’ absence, McCullough has a number of arms he could turn to. Five members of the active roster -- Calvin Faucher (two), Tyler Phillips (two), Josh Ekness (one), Michael Petersen (one) and Zuber (one) -- have recorded saves this season.
"We'll look at each day with what we have available, and most likely try to figure out the best way to get to the ninth and go about it that way," McCullough said.
Miami recalled rookie left-hander Dax Fulton from Triple-A Jacksonville as the corresponding move, providing length to the bullpen.