1) Sheffield rebounds with best performance of the season
Baseball can be a wonderfully head-scratching game at times. Look no further than Justus Sheffield for a recent example of this.
Sheffield was coming off his worst outing of the season, allowing a career-high 12 hits along with five runs — four earned – in a loss to the Astros. However, he responded on Sunday with his best performance of the 2021 campaign.
The 24-year-old allowed just two hits and no runs in 6.0 innings, with a much-needed effort in a game of little offense. He continues to grow, which is an encouraging sign for a young talent with a lot of potential.
It wasn’t all smooth, as Sheffield had to contend with several jams which contributed to 37 pitches after just two innings. However, it was mostly plain-sailing for the remainder of his start, save for another jam in the sixth.
In any event, the 2014 first round draft pick deserves credit for displaying the resolve to deal positively with several challenging situations. When the result is only a couple of hits and no runs despite not quite having your A game, this speaks volumes about the pitcher’s ability.
In addition, Sheffield going six innings was just what the bullpen needed, especially following their additional workload on Friday. For their part the bullpen still did its job too, as the high-scoring Angels were shut out for the first time this season.
With 62 of his 103 pitches going for strikes, Sheffield acknowledged his command issues to the media afterwards. However, he was pleased with how calmly he handled this:
“I stayed within myself, I stayed under control and I was able to make some pitches when I needed to. That’s pretty much what this game boils down to, making pitches when I really needed it.”
One thing which helped was Sheffield’s slider being more effective than it had been in Houston. Talking about his best pitch, he said:
“It felt a lot better. I felt like as the game was going on, I was seeing the shape that I wanted; seeing the command I wanted with it … that was huge to finally get that pitch going.
“I’ve being working hard at it in bullpen sessions and things like that, but the main thing is not thinking too much on it. I know it’s there and I’ve had it my whole life, so just not overdoing it and just going out there and trusting it; I was able to throw it throughout the game the way I wanted to.”
What might be most underestimated in all of this is Sheffield’s maturity in his thought process to dealing with adversity. Certainly it will do wonders in helping him continue his development into a key, long-term member of the Mariners’ rotation.
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