But it was starting pitcher Nick Lodolo and relief pitcher Nick Martinez who kept the Rays at bay until Fairchild could deliver.
Yes, a one-run victory, only Cincinnati’s 10th in 28 one-run affairs. Tampa Bay is 17-10 in one-runners. And the Ray were 6-3 in extra inning games to Cincinnati’s 1-3.
None of that mattered because Lodolo produced his seventh quality start. The Reds are 7-0 in those games and are on a three-game winning streak.
Lodolo (9-3) gave up two runs in the second inning, then pitched around runners on base in third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings.
The other Nick, Martinez, pitched the eighth and ninth and gave up one hit and a walk.
The Reds scored two in the first on one hit against Tampa Bay starter Shane Baz, then got only one hit over the next five innings against a pitcher making only his fourth start after missing a year-and-a-half recuperating from Tommy John surgery.
Baz went six innings and gave up two runs, two hits, walked two and struck out seven.
And the Reds had no hits against three Tampa Bay relief pitchers in the seventh, eighth and ninth.
Tampa Bay put two runners on with two outs in the eighth but Martinez coaxed an inning-ending pop-up from Jose Caballero.
The Rays stranded 10 runners and were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
Jeimer Candelario was the free runner on second to start the 10th. He moved to third on Tyler Stephenson’s grounder. Fairchild was a pinch-hitter for Jake Fraley in the seventh and stayed in the game after popping up.
In the 10th, he picked on Tampa Bay pitcher Manuel Rodriguez’s first pitch and pulled it into the left field corner to plate the winning run.
“Runner on third there with one out, I was just looking for something up in the zone,” said Fairchild during a post-game interview with Bally Sports Ohio. “I just wanted something up so I could get it up in the air and get that guy in from thjrd. I got a double out of it, so it was even better.”
Asked what it meant for him, he said, “Well, that’s a huge win for us, for the team. I was just trying to do what I could to help the team. The way the game was going after I came into it, I thought I was going to get a second opportunity to hit and I’m glad I did.”
Of course, Reds closer Alexis Diaz wobbled a bit in the bottom of the 10th. He struck out the first batter and the second hitter popped out in foul territory to second baseman Jonathan India.
Free runner Yandy Diaz took third after the catch and was 90 feet away from tying the score. Diaz hit Isaaac Parades with a pitch, placing the potential winning run on first.
Diaz went to 3-and-2 on Jonny DeLuca, hitting .174, then ended the game on a shallow fly to left.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the first when Baz walked India on a full count and walked T.J. Friedl with two outs.
Friedl returned to the lineup, batting clean-up, after spending nearly a month on the injured list.
Those walks were the only two Baz issued, but they were costly. India and Friedl both scored on Candelario’s full-count double into the right field corner.
Lodolo struggled with his breaking pitches and relied heavily on his change-up to survive several dangerous situations.
He gave up two in the second, starting the inning by hitting Parades with a pitch. Lodolo has hit 14 batters this season, most on the back foot with his diving breaking pitches.
DeLuca doubled, putting runners on third and second. One scored on a ground ball and Caballero tied it with a single.
From there Lodolo was in scramble mode. The Rays had two on with one out in the third, but Parades hit into a double play.
The Rays put runners on third and second with one out in the fourth, but Taylor Walls (.154) lobbed one to third baseman Noelvi Marte and Alex Jackson (.104), the lowest batting average in MLB for players with more than 100 at bats) grounded to second.
Tampa Bay only put one runner on base in he fifth and seventh and Lodolo worked around it.
“We have a great clubhouse and we stay positive,” Fairchild said about the three-game winning streak. “We know what we’re capable of and we know we went through a tough stretch in Washington (three straight losses), but we knew we were going to overcome that and that’s what w’ere doing right now.”
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