TORONTO – If his start against the Miami Marlins last week was a toe-dip back into big-league waters following reconstructive elbow surgery, Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers was more of a leap into the deep end for Shane Bieber.
And the right-hander swam, often impressively, rather than sank against the team with the best record in the majors. He matched Freddy Peralta zero-for-zero through five innings, allowing just three hits, before Andruw Monasterio led off the sixth by clipping a full-count slider that spun out over the heart of the plate, opening the scoring. At 92 pitches, Bieber left one on and one out for relievers Brendon Little and Louis Varland, who let the frame unravel into a five-spot that was decisive in an eventual 7-2 Toronto Blue Jays loss.
In that way, a contest between division leaders that began with October vibes for reasons beyond the crisp breeze that made 15 C feel more like 12 C, ended with the Blue Jays (78-57) losing for a third time in five games before a sellout crowd of 41,390.
Even more concerning for them is that centre-fielder Daulton Varsho left the game in the seventh after being hit on the right hand by a 96.9 m.p.h. fastball from Aaron Ashby. There was no immediate word on his condition.
Still, the way Bieber responded to what manager John Schneider described beforehand as a “good test” bodes well for the Blue Jays’ trade-deadline bet on the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner, who at the time was recovering from his elbow surgery. In his first outing back, he allowed just a run on three hits over six innings of one-run ball against the Marlins, and may have been better in holding the Brewers to two runs on five hits over 5.1 innings, given that they’re “a pain in the ass line up that can do some damage, too,” said Schneider.
The Brewers, who entered the game second in the majors with 140 stolen bases and first with a runners scoring percentage of 34 per cent, can cause all types of chaos, as well, but Bieber used his five-pitch mix to keep a lid on things.
Stuff-wise, he seemed like himself, as well, as his fastball again averaged 92.7 m.p.h. while topping out at 93.8 m.p.h. and getting 12 whiffs, six on the heater and four on his slider.
Bieber’s next start will either be Wednesday in Cincinnati or Friday at the Yankees, when his progression will continue.
