Yet to make his MLB debut in 2026, Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation) sure looked like he was getting close to that goal on Thursday.
Bieber made his fourth rehab start overall and second with Triple-A Buffalo, dealing five scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a 3-1 win over Syracuse at Sahlen Field. He scattered five hits and walked one, earning the victory.
Perhaps most importantly, Bieber ran up to 62 pitches, with 46 of them finding the strike zone. It was his longest rehab outing yet after his previous high was 59 pitches in 2 2/3 innings on Saturday.
Bieber got some help from his defense to avoid damage in the third inning. Matt Rudick lined a leadoff double at 102.9 mph. Attempting to score on a Kevin Parada single in the ensuing at-bat, right fielder Je’Von Ward cut Rudick down at the plate. Bieber then induced a flyout and groundout to escape the inning.
The defense aided Bieber once more in the fourth. Nick Morabito led off with a single and then stole second base with one out, but Buffalo retired the lead runner at third on a fielder’s choice. A groundout later ended the inning.
Bieber couldn’t get too comfortable in the fifth, either. After back-to-back strikeouts to start the inning, Parada drew the only walk Bieber issued, and Ji Hwan Bae doubled in the next at-bat. But Bieber stranded two in scoring position with a groundout.
After a long stretch of bad luck with injuries to begin the season, the 2026 Blue Jays are finally back on the right track, with Bieber’s start the latest good news. Dylan Cease returned from the IL on Tuesday with a dominant outing, and Max Scherzer returned Wednesday, recording his 3,500th career strikeout in the process.
The 2020 AL CY Young winner, Bieber exercised a player option to return to the Blue Jays this season after being traded from the Guardians a year ago. He turned in a 3.57 ERA across seven regular-season starts last year with Toronto.