TAMPA - Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Griffin Jax exited his final regular-season start after absorbing a 104 mph line drive off his lower back but said he expects to be fully available for the postseason, a significant development for a pitching staff that faces difficult roster decisions heading into October.
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner smoked the comebacker in the third inning with two outs and a runner on second base. The ball caromed off Jax, but shortstop Taylor Walls recovered in time to throw out Turner at first. Jax bent over in obvious pain before walking to the dugout and did not return in the fourth inning, with left-hander Steven Matz taking over.
“I’ll be fine,” Jax said afterward. “I have no concerns or issues about how I’m going to feel tomorrow waking up.”
Manager Kevin Cash said the team made a precautionary decision to pull Jax rather than risk further injury. “We weren’t going to let him push through it and get tightened up, but I think he’s going to be fine,” Cash said.
The incident was strikingly similar to one Jax suffered in his May 26 start in Baltimore, when a 107 mph liner struck him in the second inning in an almost identical spot on the right side of his lower back - perhaps an inch to the right of where Turner’s ball landed. Jax said his initial reaction Thursday was both shock and stiffness, and he retreated to the clubhouse immediately for treatment. After the Baltimore incident, he did not miss a turn in the rotation and made his next start June 1.
Before exiting, Jax held the Phillies to two hits while working three scoreless innings on 52 pitches, 33 of them strikes - a strong finish to a regular season in which his transition from the bullpen to the rotation has been one of the more pleasant surprises amid Tampa Bay’s march to the top of the American League standings.
The Rays have not yet announced their postseason roster, but one of the more consequential decisions involves the starting staff. Tampa Bay will likely need only three starters to get through the AL Division Series, yet has five healthy options competing for those spots: Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez, Freddy Peralta, Ian Seymour and Jax.