Jax (1-6) allowed three earned runs on three hits while striking out one across one inning to take the loss Friday against the Mariners.
This marked Jax's fourth appearance since he was dealt to the Rays, and the second in which he's allowed at least one earned run. He entered the game in the eighth inning with a two-run lead but allowed a pair of singles before serving up a three-run home run to Cal Raleigh. Jax now has an inflated 4.93 ERA on the season, but his 76:15 K:BB in 49.1 innings is indicative of how dominant he's been for long stretches of the campaign.
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Rays' Griffin Jax: Traded to Rays
Rotowire
The Rays acquired Jax from the Twins on Thursday in exchange for Taj Bradley, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jax briefly appeared poised to step in as Minnesota's closer after Jhoan Duran was dealt on Wednesday, but the Twins instead fully committed to being deadline sellers. Jax had been operating has a setup man and is likely to fill the same role in Tampa Bay, though closer Pete Fairbanks' 5.79 ERA in his past nine outings could provide a path to saves.
Twins' Griffin Jax: Dominant after early struggles
Rotowire
Jax threw a scoreless eighth inning with a walk in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Rays. He has a 3.86 ERA with 18 holds in 37.1 innings this season.
It was a rare appearance for Jax without a strikeout, as he has an eye-popping 61:9 K:BB and 39.1 percent strikeout rate. After early struggles (10 earned runs in his first eight innings) that saw him briefly demoted to lower-leverage work, Jax has a 1.84 ERA since April 22 and has been the primary set-up man to closer Jhoan Duran. Unlike previous seasons, manager Rocco Baldelli has mostly kept Duran in the ninth inning instead of deploying him in higher-leverage spots earlier in the game, limiting Jax's save opportunities.
Jax allowed a run on a home run with a strikeout in an inning of work in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox to earn his ninth hold.
After his early struggles (10 earned runs in his first eight innings) that saw him demoted to lower-leverage work, Jax had improved before Sunday with five scoreless innings and a 11:0 K:BB. Even with giving up the home run Sunday, it looks like he's back to working in the eighth inning ahead of closer Jhoan Duran.
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Twins' Griffin Jax: Early struggles continue
Rotowire
Jax (0-2) took the loss in Friday's 6-4 loss to Atlanta. He allowed four runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one over one-third of an inning.
Jax began the eighth inning with a three-run lead but couldn't hit his spots and wasn't helped by a shaky defense. It's his second poor outing in a row that has cost the Twins a lead. He has an ugly 11.25 ERA and 2.13 WHIP so far this season. He does have a strong 12:3 K:BB in eight innings with an unsustainable .480 BABIP, so there's plenty of reasons to believe he'll turn his season around. Still, he may see usage in lower-leverage spots the next few games to get him back on track.
Jax pitched one inning, surrendering two runs on three hits while striking out three batters on his way to a blown save in Sunday's 9-7 extra-inning loss to the Astros. He did not factor into the decision.
Jax was tasked with protecting a 7-5 lead in top of the ninth inning and promptly allowed a leadoff single to Isaac Paredes and a subsequent game-tying two-run homer to Yordan Alvarez to open the frame. The right-hander settled in from there, working around a double from Christian Walker and striking out the final three batters of the inning. Jax has now allowed two home runs this season while giving up three runs on six hits and a walk over 2.2 innings in three appearances out of Minnesota's bullpen.
Twins' Griffin Jax: Not sharp in regular season debut
Rotowire
Jax allowed a run on a home run and a walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning Thursday against the Cardinals.
Jax wasn't sharp in his first outing of the season as he was pulled after 21 pitches. Jax will reprise his late inning setup role again this season and should see some save chances when Jhoan Duran is used earlier in the game or unavailable.
