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DENVER — Pete Fairbanks had a gripe over his grip on the baseball.

For that, he blamed the humidor at Coors Field.

The Tampa Bay Rays reliever took issue with the variability of the balls Friday after he issued three walks in the ninth inning. That paved the way for Ryan McMahon‘s walk-off grand slam as the Colorado Rockies rallied for a 10-7 victory in their home opener.

“They were horrible. You can mark that down in all caps for me — horrible,” Fairbanks said of the baseballs. “No excuse, though.”

The Rockies installed a humidor room at Coors Field in 2002 to control the moisture level in baseballs, which helps keep them from becoming dried out in Denver’s thin air.

It does take some getting used to. The Rays haven’t been in the Mile High City for a series since 2016. The team also is coming from sea level.

“There’s definitely a difference. It’s definitely different,” said Rockies pitcher Peter Lambert, who threw two scoreless innings Friday. “Sometimes, it can be a little more dry and the ball can feel a little more chalky, for sure.”

Fairbanks started the ninth by walking Jake Cave, Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones. In all, the right-hander threw 17 pitches — five for strikes — without getting an out. He was replaced by Jason Adam, who struck out Kris Bryant before giving up the grand slam to McMahon.

“That’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes,” said Fairbanks, whose team rallied in the ninth from a four-run deficit to take a 7-6 lead. “You get punished for it. So I’d love to see those come out of the humidor tomorrow in a little better shape before they get rubbed up. But there’s nobody to blame but myself for not being able to adjust to some of the quality issues.”

Asked if the baseballs were too wet or dry, Fairbanks responded: “They were just overall bad. I’m not going to elaborate further than that.

“They were not uniform from ball to ball. Just dry, smooth, whatever you want to say.”

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Chavez, 41, signs minor league deal with Rangers

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Chavez, 41, signs minor league deal with Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas — Veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez has agreed to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training with the Texas Rangers, the team that drafted the 41-year-old pitcher nearly 23 years ago.

The Rangers also on Monday signed right-hander David Buchanan, outfielder Cody Thomas and catcher Chad Wallach to minor league deals with invitations to big league spring training.

Chavez was 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 46 games last season for Atlanta. He has a 51-65 record with a 4.25 ERA in 653 career games (85 starts) over 17 seasons with nine different teams. He was a World Series champion in 2021 with the Braves.

Texas took Chavez in the 42nd round of the 2002 amateur draft, and traded him four years later to Pittsburgh, where he made his big league debut in 2008.

He was 6-6 with a 4.58 ERA in 96 games (nine starts) for the Rangers from 2018-20. He signed with Texas as a free agent before the 2018 season, was traded to the Chicago Cubs later that summer and then re-signed with Texas in free agency before the 2019 season.

The 35-year-old Buchanan made one relief appearance for Cincinnati last season, his first MLB game since 36 starts for Philadelphia from 2014-15 until pitching three seasons in Japan and four in Korea.

Wallach hit seven home runs in 65 games for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, and spent all of last season with their Triple-A team. Thomas, a left-handed hitter who played in 29 games for Oakland in 2022 and 2023, hit .263 with two homers and 19 RBI in 79 games in Japan last year.

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Rangers create TV network to produce, air games

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Rangers create TV network to produce, air games

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers have created a new company to oversee production and distribution of their game broadcasts.

The MLB team on Monday unveiled the Rangers Sports Media & Entertainment Company. That company will include the new Rangers Sports Network (RSN) and the existing REV Entertainment that is the team’s official sports and entertainment partner and official booking agent for events at its current and former stadiums.

“One of the main goals when seeking solutions for Rangers television broadcasts was to give fans more access to our games,” Rangers majority owner Ray Davis said. “We determined that the best path toward providing our fans with more options is to handle many of the broadcast obligations in-house.”

The Rangers earlier this month entered into a multiyear agreement with A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC) to stream Rangers regional games directly to consumers on the Victory+ service starting this year. The team said then that service, which will cost $100 to access games for a full season, was the first step in providing multiple viewing options after several seasons of access issues, but still hasn’t revealed details about additional options.

Formation of the Rangers Sports Network comes before the anticipation of deals for local TV rights to have games air through traditional cable providers along with some limited over-the-air broadcasts. The Rangers have more than 16 million households in their broadcast territory over parts of five states.

Neil Leibman, who is part of the team’s ownership group, will be chairman of the Rangers Sports Media & Entertainment Company, relinquishing his previous team responsibilities as COO and president of business operations. Jim Cochrane, a 28-year veteran of the Rangers front office, was promoted to executive vice president and chief business officer.

The Rangers previously had their regional broadcasts on Bally Sports Southwest, part of the financially troubled Diamond Sports Group that went through a bankruptcy reorganization. The team’s deal with Diamond expired at the end of last season. Bally Sports Southwest was not available through some cable companies and many popular streaming platforms.

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Orioles agree to 1-year deal with OF Carlson

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Orioles agree to 1-year deal with OF Carlson

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles agreed to terms with Dylan Carlson on a $975,000, one-year contract Monday, a couple of months after the outfielder was non-tendered by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Carlson was a first-round draft pick in 2016 by the St. Louis Cardinals, and he hit 18 home runs in his first full season in 2021. Since then, however, he’s hit only 16.

Carlson hit .209 with three home runs and 25 RBIs in 96 games for the Cardinals and Rays in 2024, but at age 26 the switch-hitter may still have some upside and can play all three outfield spots.

The Orioles lost right fielder Anthony Santander to Toronto via free agency, and they’ve added outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Also in the mix for playing time in the Baltimore outfield are Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad.

Carlson’s deal includes a $25,000 bonus if he reaches 200 plate appearances.

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