Fairchild’s clutch double lifts Reds over Rays in extras
Mark Sheldon
ST. PETERSBURG — An RBI double by Stuart Fairchild in the top of the 10th inning was enough to give the Reds a 3-2 victory over the Rays in their series opener on Friday at Tropicana Field.
With pinch-runner Austin Slater at third base and one out, Fairchild hit reliever Manuel Rodríguez’s first-pitch slider down the left-field line for the go-ahead run that snapped a 2-2 tie.
Cincinnati (50-53) has won three straight games and is 3-3 on its road trip with two games remaining.
Reds starter Nick Lodolo pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs, five hits, one walk and hit two batters while striking out five.
The Reds took a 2-0 first-inning lead on Jeimer Candelario’s two-out, two-run double to right field as Rays starter Shane Baz labored to throw strikes. But Lodolo ran into his own two-run inning in the second as three of the first four batters reached. It was José Caballero’s RBI single that tied the game.
Caballero hit a one-out double in the fourth inning to put two runners in scoring position. But Lodolo was able to escape as he retired 10 of his last 11 batters.
