Minnesota Twins reliever Griffin Jax looks like himself again after a rough stretch

After Griffin Jax blew a three-run lead in Atlanta last weekend, giving up four runs on two hits and two walks, he thought he identified what he needed to work on.

It looks like he was right. He’s struck out seven of the 11 batters he has faced in his past three outings, all scoreless appearances.

“We’re getting there,” Jax said after the Twins’ 5-1 victory over the Angels on Saturday. “It was super simple. It was a feeling, you know. Any athlete that’s aware of their body knows what the feeling is. It’s different for everybody, but the minute you find it, you’ve got to drill it down to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere.”

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The confounding part of Jax’s struggles — he has given up 16 hits and 10 earned runs in 11 innings this year — was how much his pitches looked like they did last season. His velocity was essentially the same, and his offspeed pitches still generated a ton of swing-and-misses, which helped him keep his confidence.

“It was more the ability to execute location consistently,” Jax said. “Every pitcher in MLB needs to be able to throw it, for the most part, where they want to; you can’t just get away with throwing it down the middle, or you’re going to get crushed.

“These are big-league hitters, and that was sort of the issue. But I’m back in my flow and I’m able to put it more where I’m intending to.”

Manager Rocco Baldelli started using Jax in the seventh inning, but he has largely remained in high-leverage situations. In two appearances vs. the White Sox this past week, Jax entered with a one-run lead.

“Just the way he comes in the dugout after these outings, I think he feels pretty good about how he’s going right now,” Baldelli said.

Kody Clemens spent a couple of days at home in Houston after the Phillies designated him for assignment while awaiting his next destination.

At 9:30 p.m. Friday, he received a text from his agent, who told him to have his phone ready. Shortly afterward, Philadelphia General Manager Preston Mattingly told Clemens he was headed to the Twins.

“I call myself a grinder player,” said Clemens, who was hitless in six at-bats this year. “I play the game hard, the right way. I’m a good teammate. My career in the big leagues has been more of a role player/pinch hitter, but I’m excited for the opportunity to get out there and get some at-bats in.”

Clemens, son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, is a lefthanded hitter with most of his big-league experience at first base. He replaced Luke Keaschall (fractured right forearm) on the active roster.

“We actually have him as a good second baseman defensively and a guy that can play first base pretty easily,” Baldelli said. “He’s played a decent amount of first base and can also help us, if needed, at third or in the corners on the outfield. We really, we can move him around on the field and ask him to do a lot of things.”

After playing six innings and garnering three at-bats to begin a Class AAA St. Paul rehab assignment Friday, Royce Lewis returned to the Twins dugout afterward to watch the final few innings of Friday’s victory over the Angels.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before, a guy go play a rehab game and then show back up to the ballpark,” Baldelli said. “Maybe a day game — you play the day game and come over to the ballpark later on, but not playing a slightly earlier night game and showing up to the ballpark at whatever time, 9 at night? He likes being here. He does.”

Following the two baseball games, Lewis went next door to Target Center to watch the second half of the Timberwolves’ 116-104 victory over the Lakers. Lewis, a Southern California native, attended the NBA playoff game alongside teammates Harrison Bader and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. with tickets near the Wolves’ bench.

• Walt Jocketty, a Minnesota native who built the St. Louis Cardinals into a World Series champion in 2006 as their general manager, died at 74. Jocketty attended Marshall High School and the University of Minnesota before he started his long front office career, becoming GM for the Cardinals (1994-2007) and Cincinnati Reds (2008-16).

• Patrick Winkel and Anthony Prato homered in the St. Paul Saints’ 6-5 loss to Indianapolis on Saturday at CHS Field. Travis Adams took the loss after giving up three runs in three innings.