Bombers' Bats Pummel Ex-Yankees Prospect Justus Sheffield, Mariners in Blowout Win

SEATTLE — A few years ago, Justus Sheffield was one of the Yankees' prized possessions in their farm system. On Tuesday night in Seattle, New York knocked around the former top prospect to take a commanding lead in the early going.

The Yankees scored six runs off the left-hander, slapping five hits including a three-run moonshot off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton in the first. 

By the time Mariners manager Scott Servais called to the bullpen, with two outs in the second, the damage had already been done. New York went on to run away with a 12-1 victory at T-Mobile Park.

In Sheffield's 1.2 innings pitched, every single ball New York put in play had an exit velocity north of 96 mph. Unsurprisingly, Stanton's three-run missile was the hardest hit ball of the night, clocked at 115.8 mph. 

In the second inning, a run scored on a wild pitch before first baseman Luke Voit drove in two more on a single to left. Voit had a career-high five hits in the win. 

Sheffield was the organization's fourth-ranked prospect back in 2017 (according to MLB Pipeline), acquired from the Cleveland Indians in the Andrew Miller trade (with Clint Frazier) the year prior. A former first-rounder, Sheffield had upside to grow atop a big-league rotation. 

His big-league break would end up within another organization, though. Sheffield was dealt to the Mariners after the 2018 season in the James Paxton trade. 

Since going to Seattle, it's been a rough couple years for the southpaw. Entering his start on Tuesday, Sheffield had a 5.01 ERA over 32 games in a Mariners uniform. His ERA for the 2021 season jumped from 5.88 to 6.48 after his latest clunker against his old team.

The Yankees took full advantage of a favorable matchup when they needed a pick-me-up. The Bombers wound up with a season-high 18 hits on the night, an outburst to start an incredibly important six-game road trip leading up to the All-Star break.

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