Griffin Jax Provides Rays With Plenty of Optimism Against Red Sox
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The Tampa Bay Rays have been playing at a high level this season despite dealing with a lot of injuries to their pitching staff.
They came into the season with several key contributors on the injured list: starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot and relievers Manuel Rodriguez and Steven Wilson. Since the season has begun, starting pitchers Joe Boyle and Steven Matz and relief pitcher Mason Englert have hit the injured list.
With so many moving parts on the pitching staff, manager Kevin Cash has had to make some changes to players’ roles. One person who has undergone arguably the biggest change is Griffin Jax.
He is making the conversion to being a starting pitcher after being acquired ahead of the deadline last year from the Minnesota Twins, with the plan for him being used as a high-leverage reliever late in games.
Griffin Jax performing well as a starting pitcher
However, Jax struggled mightily and started the transition as an opener ahead of Jesse Scholtens. In Game 1 of the Rays’ series against the Boston Red Sox, it was the first time that Jax was being used without a bulk inning guy behind him.
The final stat line won’t blow people away; he threw four innings, allowing four hits and one walk that resulted in three runs total, two of which were earned. His stat line was rounded out with three strikeouts.
It was a very encouraging start for Jax despite what looks like underwhelming numbers on the surface. He was efficient, throwing 59 pitches, 39 of which went for strikes, during the outing to continue building up his arm strength and durability to work deeper into games.
All three of the runs scored against Jax came in the second inning. A throwing error from the normally sure-handed Taylor Walls at shortstop extended the inning and allowed an extra run to come across the plate.
The Tampa Bay Rays have been known to develop relievers into starting pitchers. Griffin Jax could be on that path in 2026 after being a highly-skilled and touted reliever. Jax hasn't thrown 3 or more innings since April 2022. The Twins deployed Jax as a starting pitcher in his… pic.twitter.com/Kf32gtR5YZ
— Corbin (@corbin_young21) May 8, 2026
It was incredibly encouraging to see him buckle down and get out of the inning; earlier in the year, he had a few blowup outings out of the bullpen after some miscues occurred, and things snowballed out of control.
Throwing two shutout innings after those struggles shows a lot of mental fortitude and toughness from Jax. He helped keep Tampa Bay in the game by not allowing another run. In fact, the entire staff performed well, with Boston managing to score only one run in the final seven innings of the game.
Jax is going to be counted on to fill a major void in the rotation with three projected starters sidelined, and the results, thus far, are incredibly promising.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.