Rays' Fairbanks: 'We were generally terrible' during season's 1st half

Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks was blunt while assessing the team's performance in the first half of the season.

"I mean, I thought we were generally terrible for at least part of it," Fairbanks told reporters Sunday, per Bally Sports Sun.

Fairbanks picked up his 17th save of the season in Sunday's 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians as Tampa Bay entered the All-Star break with a 48-48 record.

"I’ll take being right at .500 with how we were to start the year going into what should be a good reset for all parties," Fairbanks said.

Fairbanks is putting together another strong season at the back of the Rays' bullpen. The 30-year-old is 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts across 34 appearances in 2024.

The Rays are 5.5 games back of a wild-card spot in the American League as they look to make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive campaign.