The visiting Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles might not go quietly when they finish their three-game series on Thursday afternoon.
The teams have split the first two contests of their set, with the Rays’ 6-2 victory on Wednesday ending with some theatrics.
Tampa Bay reliever Pete Fairbanks hit Orioles prospect Samuel Basallo with a pitch on the hand/wrist in the bottom of the ninth inning. Seconds after the game ended, Fairbanks blew a kiss in the direction of the Baltimore dugout. Basallo, a catcher who had been playing as the first baseman on Wednesday, came out of the game after he was dinged.
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said he assumed Fairbanks was reacting to a fan chirping above the dugout.
That was Fairbanks’ version of the sequence as well. He said he in no way intended for the pitch to hit Basallo.
“Unfortunately smoking their No. 1 prospect,” Fairbanks said. “That is what it is. I’m not talking about it anymore. I don’t think it needs to be addressed anymore. … I have nothing but respect for those guys over there that are playing hard. That’s the last thing on my mind to do anything to look like (I’m going to) to rub in anything that I feel terrible about.”
Mansolino said there was confusion and probably a misunderstanding.
“Our dugout didn’t say a word,” he said.
At least from Mansolino’s response, there were no suggestions that anything intentional came from the pitch.
“There would be no reason for them to do that,” he said. “… I think it was an accident. It’s an unfortunate part of the game.”
Basallo, who was undergoing an evaluation after the game, went 0-for-3 to see his batting average dip to .176.
The Rays (77-81) and Orioles (74-84) occupy the bottom two spots in the American League East standings, and they won’t be involved in the playoffs. This is the rubber match of the season series as the teams have each won six games.
The Orioles will play in their home finale before finishing the season in New York against the Yankees, while the Rays next go to Toronto.
Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.80 ERA) is scheduled to start on Thursday afternoon. He’ll be looking to match his career-best win mark, set in 2022.
Rasmussen hasn’t recorded a decision since defeating the Athletics on Aug. 13, although his shortest outing since the All-Star break came last Friday with three innings against Boston.
Rasmussen is 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings over nine career appearances (six starts) against Tampa Bay.
Left-hander Cade Povich (3-8, 5.06) will get the start on Thursday for Baltimore. He’ll have a full week’s rest since last pitching against the Yankees.
Povich is 1-5 with a 5.66 ERA in 13 home appearances (12 starts) this season.
This will be his first matchup with the Rays in his two big-league seasons. He finished his 2024 assignments with 5 2/3 shutout innings against Minnesota, so he’ll look for another positive send-off to the offseason.