Griffin Jax allowed five hits and two runs – none earned – with two walks and seven strikeouts across five innings to earn the win against the Royals on Wednesday.
Jax was excellent here. His changeup was diabolical against this left-handed heavy Royals’ lineup forcing eight swings-and-misses and dancing off the edge of the plate all game long. He likely would’ve been able to polish off his first quality start of the season here as well if not for two errors by Rays’ defenders in the sixth inning that brought home both of Jax’s runs, forced him to work harder than he had to, and made that his final inning of work. Regardless, he still threw a season-high 88 pitches and has turned himself into a solid starting pitcher with a 2.40 ERA, 43 strikeouts, and just 13 walks over 45 innings since moving into the rotation. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Royals and Astros with both starts coming on the road.
