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Stats

Griffin Jax much better in second start off IL

Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Player Stats

Griffin Jax allowed two hits and one run with one walk and two strikeouts over five innings to earn the win in a 7-2 victory over the Braves on Wednesday.

It was nice for Jax to quell the concerns after his rough return from the injured list last week with a strong start here, but he still wasn’t completely back to form. His command was off in general and he hung far too many breaking balls, the Braves just didn’t do much with those mistakes. His velocity was also still down about a tick compared to his season averages and he only forced four total swings-and-misses. Back to those breaking balls, the Braves found it easy to spit on practically every one that Jax threw out of the zone and he’ll need to get more whiffs on them if he wants to truly return to form. He’s scheduled to face the Athletics at home next time out.

- James Schiano

Recap

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Should athletes time their family planning better?

After Mason Miller was unavailable for a crucial Padres NLDS game due to the birth of his child, Nick Wright and Dan Le Batard tap into an age-old debate: Should athletes be more careful about when they have children?

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Should athletes time their family planning better?

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Hard to judge Miller for going on paternity list

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Padres were lifted by home crowd to win Game 3

Rays take 2-0 lead on the back of Yankees miscues

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Yankees unravel in Game 2 against the Rays

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Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

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Griffin Jax left his start Saturday against the Phillies after getting hit in the lower back by a liner on the final play of the third inning.

Trea Turner lined a ball off Jax that bounced to the shortstop and turned into an out. Jax was then replaced by Steven Matz in the fourth. Jax, who was diagnosed with a low back contusion, will probably be fine by the time the ALDS rolls around, and he likely will serve as the Rays’ fourth starter with Shane McClanahan absent. His regular season ends at 8-10 with a 3.53 ERA in 23 starts and 11 relief appearances.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Griffin Jax tossed five scoreless innings and got the win in the Rays’ 5-1 victory over the Red Sox on Sunday.

Jax gave up three hits, walked two and struck out five. He improved to 8-10 with the win. Jax has won two of his last three starts and allowed only one run in 15 innings in that span. He has a 3.62 ERA this year. Jax is lined up to face the Phillies on the road in the last weekend of the regular season.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Griffin Jax tossed five scoreless innings and got a no-decision in the Rays’ 2-1 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday.

Jax gave up two hits, walked none and struck out seven. He’s allowed two runs and recorded nine strikeouts in 10 innings over his last two starts. Jax has a 3.40 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 95 1/3 innings over 21 starts since the Rays moved him into the rotation at the end of April. Jax is lined up to face the Red Sox at home on Sunday.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Griffin Jax was lit up for seven hits and six runs with two walks and one strikeout across 2 2/3 innings in a loss to the Mets on Wednesday.

Jax was abysmal in his return from an elbow injury. The Mets jumped on him for three runs right away in the top of the first inning and then added three more in the third. In total, nine of the 14 balls the Mets put in play off Jax were hard-hit as their left-handed heavy lineup consistently teed off on his changeup. We expected him to be rusty in his first start back, but this was a catastrophe. Also, it’s important to note that his velocity was down about one mile per hour across the board. He’ll have a chance to right the ship next Wednesday on the road against the Braves.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Rays activated RHP Griffin Jax (right elbow discomfort) from the 15-day injured list

Jax threw 42 pitches in his last rehab start with was also on August 23rd. There had been a discussion that he might throw one more minor league start, but that never came to fruition, so we would expect him to be under 65 pitches in this outing on Wednesday. He struggled to command his changeup and sweeper in that rehab outing, so we’ll see how sharp he looks against the Mets. We would leave him on the bench in fantasy leagues.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Griffin Jax (elbow) allowed three runs on three hits in three innings for Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Jax struck out two and walked two while throwing 42 pitches in the outing. He threw 60 percent of his pitches for strikes and posted a 17 percent swinging strike rate and 31 percent CSW. His sinker has 95.1 mph, and his four-seamer was 95.4 mph, so there didn’t seem to be much concern with his velocity. He did struggle to command his changeup and sweeper, so the Rays may opt to give him one more rehab start and try to get him closer to 60 pitches before activating him.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Griffin Jax (elbow) threw a live batting practice on Tuesday at Tropicana Field.

This phenomenal and unexpectedly good news for Jax who went on the injured list for elbow discomfort nine days ago and then sought a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister regarding it. He deemed surgery wouldn’t be necessary and now Jax is back on a mound just one week later. Kevin Cash told Topkin that Jax “looked good” and was able to use all of his pitches. The plan as of now is for him to make a rehab start on Sunday, meaning he could be back with the Rays as soon as next week.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Griffin Jax (elbow) received an injection during a visit with specialist Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday.

It’s arguably the best-case scenario after Jax hit the shelf with elbow discomfort over the weekend. It sounds like he won’t require surgery, which is the positive news. Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Jax will be shut down for a couple days before starting a throwing program. There’s a decent chance that he’s back in Tampa Bay’s rotation at some point next month.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Rays placed RHP Griffin Jax on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 6, with right elbow discomfort.

The 31-year-old hurler was scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday due to the elbow issue and he’ll now be shelved for at least a couple of weeks. Michael Grove was recalled from Triple-A Durham to take his spot on the Rays’ active roster.
Griffin Jax

TB Starting Pitcher #22

Griffin Jax was charged with three runs — one earned — in five innings and struck out eight in a loss to the White Sox on Sunday.

Ryan Vilade started the game with an error at second base and Jax later made an error of his own on a tapper back to the mound in the White Sox’s two-run first inning. The lone earned run was produced by an Andrew Benintendi 378-foot home run. It’s the fourth time in five starts that Jax has allowed exactly one earned run. He’ll be a fine option in mixed leagues with a road start in Seattle coming up.

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Garrett Mitchell

MIL Center Fielder #5
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Garrett Mitchell went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI as the Brewers bested the Padres 3-1 in Wednesday’s Game 4 to advance to the NLCS.

The league’s top two seeds will meet in the NLCS, with the Brewers getting home-field advantage over the Dodgers. Even bigger than his offensive contribution tonight was Mitchell taking away a two-run homer from Manny Machado in the eighth. He finished the series 4-for-15.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Robert Gasser

MIL Starting Pitcher #54
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Robert Gasser threw four innings of one-run ball Thursday in the win over the Padres.

It wasn’t clear until this afternoon whether Gasser would get a start in the series, but he did and came through nicely in his first appearance since Sept. 25. Based on this and the way he ended the regular season — he had a 1.67 ERA in his final six starts — he probably ought to be ahead of Dustin May in line for a potential Game 3 start against the Dodgers.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Aaron Ashby

MIL Relief Pitcher #26
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Aaron Ashby kept the Padres hitless for three innings to pick up the win in relief in Wednesday’s Game 4.

Ashby has his first postseason victory after collecting 11 during the regular season. He pitched in three of the four games against the Brewers, turning in 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Trevor Megill

MIL Relief Pitcher #29
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Trevor Megill tossed a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to finish off the Brewers’ NLDS win over the Padres.

Megill threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the series, picking up a victory and two saves. He’s allowed just one run in 10 2/3 innings during his postseason career.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Walker Buehler

SD Starting Pitcher #10
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Walker Buehler was lifted after allowing one run in three innings Wednesday against the Brewers.

As he did all year, Buehler kept the Padres in the game, which he exited with the score tied 1-1. He ended the regular season with a 4.63 ERA, but he was 9-6 anyway and the Padres were a particularly impressive 22-10 in his starts. One imagines they’ll have some interest in bringing him back in free agency this winter.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Manny Machado

SD 3rd Baseman #13
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Manny Machado went 1-for-4 and just missed a game-tying two-run homer Wednesday in the eighth inning of Game 4 against the Brewers.

Garrett Mitchell prevented the homer. Machado didn’t have a great regular season, but he was the standout performer for the Padres this October, going 7-for-20 with a homer, two doubles and five walks. That was good for a 1.080 OPS, well ahead of Xander Bogaerts at .824 for the best mark on the team.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Hagen Smith

CWS Starting Pitcher #82
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Hagen Smith will open Game 4 of the ALDS against the Guardians on Thursday.

Smith draws the opening assignment after throwing 21 pitches in relief during Wednesday’s Game 3 loss to the Guardians. He walked a pair of batters and gave up on hit during the abbreviated outing. The 23-year-old southpaw has been a revelation this season and has allowed just one run over 6 1/3 innings this postseason. Ideally, the White Sox would like to jump out to an early lead before turning the ball over the Grant Taylor with a chance to wrap up the series and advance to face the Rays in the ALCS this weekend.
- George Bissell

Source: Jesse Rogers

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Victor Mesa Jr.

TB Right Fielder #25
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Victor Mesa Jr. blasted a go-ahead two-run homer to propel the Rays to a series-clinching 4-3 victory over the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS on Wednesday.

Mesa connected on a hanging slider from Yankees ace Max Fried, sending a majestic 401-foot moonshot into the front row of the right-field seats to put Tampa Bay ahead with two outs in the sixth inning. It was his lone hit in four at-bats, but it made the difference in a low-scoring showdown in New York as the Rays completed a sweep of their division rivals to punch their ticket to the ALCS for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. They’ll face either the White Sox or Guardians later this week at Tropicana Field.
- George Bissell

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Anthony Volpe

NYY Shortstop #11
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Anthony Volpe went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the Yankees’ season-ending loss to the Rays in Game 3 of the ALDS on Wednesday.

Baseball is a game of inches. Literally. Nobody is more aware of that age-old truism than Volpe as the Yankees were unable to stave off elimination and keep their season alive. It looked momentarily like the much-harangued former top prospect was going to have his signature moment at Yankee Stadium before a replay review overturned a potential game-tying home run to left field due to some fairly obvious fan interference in the sixth inning. He struck out on seven pitches against Rays closer Bryan Baker leading off the ninth as the Yankees were swept out of the postseason by their division rivals.
- George Bissell

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Bryan Baker

TB Relief Pitcher #47
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Bryan Baker fired a scoreless ninth inning to pick up the save in a series-clinching win over the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS on Wednesday.

Baker got the call in a save situation for the third consecutive game and managed to once again slam the door. He struck out Anthony Volpe on seven pitches before issuing a four-pitch walk to Spencer Jones. He didn’t look particularly sharp early on, but Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder was able to somehow get him back on track with a timely mound visit. Baker responded by getting Jazz Chisholm Jr. to ground into a force out before striking out Trent Grisham to end the series.
- George Bissell

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