Unbelievable...
The champagne was ready, the game and the Series were won, all they needed was 3 more outs with a 3-run lead. And then
that happened, the bullpen meltdown to end all bullpen meltdowns. Pete Fairbanks, who breezed through the 8th, came out for the 9th with Devin Williams still tired from Game 5. Fairbanks gave up his obligatory homer to Jurickson Profar to lead off the inning, put two on but got two out. This brought Fernando Tatis Jr. to the plate, and Fairbanks walked him on a 3-2 pitch to load 'em up. By this point Fairbanks was in the red so with Manny Machado due I went with Nick Sandlin, who had been inconsistent but is tough on righties with his sidearm delivery. Not this time, though, as Machado took him out of the park for a walk-off grand slam and the Rays went from World Series winners to a shaken team now needing to win a Game 7. A couple of things didn't help: the offense's inability to score after the 2nd inning, and Tyler Glasnow's 5-inning outing which saw him walk 5 and drive up his pitch count even though he only allowed the one run. As a result we had to go a thin bullpen early. But still, a 3-run lead in the 9th is a 3-run lead in the 9th, and just as the Rays shocked the Padres in Game 5, the tables were turned in an even more cruel fashion tonight. Mike Clevinger will need to step up and hopefully help the Rays recover from this blow in Game 7.