Sheffield shines in win over Arizona
Mariners score early, backed by quality pitching to defeat Diamondbacks
PHOENIX – Ty France and José Marmolejos hit homers, Justus Sheffield pitched seven quality innings and the Seattle Mariners snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-3 on Saturday night.
The Mariners jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning off Arizona starter Zac Gallen, who has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. France started the scoring with a solo homer, which was his second in two days. The next three runs came with two outs when Marmolejos hit a run-scoring double and Luis Torrens added a tworun double.
“Nice ballgame all the way around tonight,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I thought the pitching side, offensively, we did a lot of good things
early in the ballgame. Can’t get much better effort than we got out of everyone tonight. Got the results we were looking for, too.”
Sheffield (3-3) avoided trouble for most of the
night, giving up two runs on five hits. The one exception was the fourth, when the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with no outs. Wyatt Mathisen hit a one-out, two-run single
to pull the D-backs within a 5-2 margin, but Sheffield struck out Carson Kelly and retired Pavin Smith on a ground out to end the threat.
The 24-year-old Sheffield
has thrown seven innings in back-to-back starts. He struck out seven and walked three on Saturday.
“I feel like the whole game my fastball was, by
102 yards and a touchdown for Clemson, which improved to 70-5 since the start of the 2015 season under coach Dabo Swinney.
“I knew it was probably going to get a little sloppy, but that’s going to make our team better. But Trevor was amazing. He really was,” Swinney said.
The Heisman Trophy hopeful looked in solid form against the Demon Deacons.
After going three-andout with a bad 16-yard sack on the first drive, Clemson scored on its next three possessions, including a pair of short walk-in touchdowns by Lawrence to take a 17-0 lead. On both occasions, the Demon Deacons sold out on the fake handoff to Etienne, allowing Lawrence a free path to the end zone.
Clemson has now outscored Wake Forest 152-19 over the last three seasons, holding the Demon Deacons to just one touchdown. The Tigers have won 12
straight against the Demon
Deacons.
Etienne averaged nearly 6 yards per carry and repeatedly picked up yards after initial contact by breaking tackles.
“As he’s gotten stronger it has come a little easier for him,” Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. “He has the best contact balance of any guy I’ve ever coached.”
Lawrence completed 22 of 28 passes and spread the ball around to eight different receivers in the first half alone as Clemson took a 27-0 lead.
Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman was 11 of 21 for 182 yards passing and was sacked four times before being replaced in the fourth quarter. Taylor Morin was a bright spot for Wake Forest, finishing with nine catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.
“They came out strong like they always do and they played better than us tonight,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “That quarterback and that tailback are special players. Disappointed with the result, but I think there are a lot of positives to build on.”
EMPTY STANDS
The game was played in front of a near empty stadium, with the exception of about 50 family members of Demon Deacon upperclassmen to comply with North Carolina state COVID-19 rules.
Wake Forest’s school’s band and cheerleaders were stationed on the side hill behind one of the end zones, socially distanced from each other. Wake Forest showed its fans cheering virtually on the scoreboard while ambient crowd noise was pumped in.
“It was a little weird but we’re just so happy to be playing,” Lawrence said. “We were just excited to play especially because it was up in the air on whether we were going to play.”
RACIAL INJUSTICE
Both teams wore stickers on the back of their helmets supporting the fight against racial injustice. Clemson players had a choice of four decals: “Love,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Equality” and one that included several sayings including “Put an end to racism.” Wake Forest players wore “Black Lives Matter” on the back of their helmets.
THE TAKEAWAY
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons really struggled with tackling. Clawson didn’t begin full-contact practices until about three weeks ago because he didn’t feel good about risking players’ health until he was sure there’d be a season. It’s not easy to tackle Etienne anyway, but Wake Forest will need to do a better job of wrapping up.
Clemson: The Tigers lost Tee Higgins to the NFL draft and Justyn Ross to a season-ending injury, but their new wave of receivers appears decently talented. It’s still unclear who’ll emerge as the leader of this group. Amari Rodgers led the way against Wake Forest with five catches for 90 yards, but dropped a wide open pass in the back of the end zone before colliding with the goalpost. “I think he took his eyes off the ball at the last second,” Elliott said.
PAUL’S PREDICTION
Former Wake Forest star and current NBA player Chris Paul was guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay and chose his Demon Deacons to win. He didn’t get that one right, but did predict Lafayette upsetting No. 23 Iowa State.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Tigers looked very much like the No. 1 team in the country.
UP NEXT
Clemson: Hosts The Citadel on Saturday in home opener.
Wake Forest: Visits ACC foe N.C. State Saturday.