Griffin Jax gave Twins fans a little October satisfaction on Wednesday night, even if Minnesota wasn’t in the bracket. The former Twins right-hander helped the Tampa Bay Rays finish off a sweep of the Yankees with a 4-3 win at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
Jax worked two innings out of the bullpen and allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out four. He needed 32 pitches to get through his outing, and he entered in the bottom of the sixth.
The sixth inning turned into the kind of tense, messy playoff frame that can swing a series. Jax started by getting Cody Bellinger to line out softly, then issued a walk to George Lombard Jr. before striking out Austin Wells.
Then came the scare. With two outs and a runner aboard, Anthony Volpe launched a ball to deep left field that was initially ruled a game-tying home run.
After review, the call was overturned because of fan interference. Volpe was credited with an RBI double instead, and Jax responded by striking out Spencer Jones to close out the inning.
He settled in from there. In the seventh, Jax made quick work of the Yankees, inducing a popout from Jazz Chisholm Jr. before punching out Trent Grisham and Ben Rice.
For Twins fans, it was a satisfying reminder that a former Minnesota arm was delivering in a big spot against New York, a team that has long owned the Twins. Since 1903, the Yankees are 1,152-780 against Minnesota.
Since 2000, New York is 121-56 against the Twins. In the postseason, the gap has been even more brutal, with the Yankees going 16-2 against Minnesota from 2003 to 2019.
Minnesota didn’t make the playoffs this year, but the Jax outing still offered a small consolation. The Twins traded him to Tampa Bay for right-hander Taj Bradley at last year’s trade deadline, and the deal remains one that looks balanced on paper.
Bradley turned in a strong 2026 season with the Twins, putting up a 3.73 ERA and a 27.4% strikeout rate over 178 1/3 innings. Jax also pitched well for the Rays, finishing with a 3.53 ERA and a 25.3% strikeout rate across 112 1/3 innings. By fWAR, Bradley finished at 2.8 and Jax at 1.6.
There’s also a long-term wrinkle to the trade: Bradley is under team control through the 2029 season, while Jax is set to become a free agent after next season.
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