TORONTO -- Despite getting off to a slow start when he initially returned from the injured list in June, Shane Bieber looks to have found his groove for the Blue Jays.
That continued on Thursday afternoon, as Bieber silenced the American League-leading Rays bats over seven innings of one-run ball at Rogers Centre while surrendering just three hits in Toronto’s 3-1 victory.
The win snapped the Blue Jays’ four-game losing streak and ensured Toronto wasn’t swept by its division rival at home.
Bieber needed just 86 pitches (57 strikes) to get through his season-high in innings pitched, striking out three during an outing where he relied heavily upon his fastball. The 31-year-old threw his heater 33 times -- averaging 92.5 mph with the offering -- while mixing in a variety of changeups, cutters, knuckle curves, sinkers and sliders.
The only run Tampa Bay managed came after a two-out rally in the third inning, when Hunter Feduccia doubled off the right-field wall before Yandy Díaz brought him home with a single on a 1-0 breaking ball.
After allowing 12 combined runs through his first three starts off the injured list, Bieber has now rattled off three consecutive positive outings as he continues to take steps in the right direction now that he’s settled back into the Major Leagues.
Bieber seemingly began his turnaround in a July 10 start against the Padres, where he settled in after two first-inning runs before shutting down San Diego for the next 3 2/3 frames. He then came out of the break with six scoreless frames against the White Sox on Saturday, striking out a season-best six batters.
“I think that he's kind of been trending up from his outing in San Diego to his last one,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Bieber pregame. “I think that he's kind of kicked the rust off a little bit from the layoff, and he's in a better spot delivery-wise.”
Toronto delivered enough offense to back its starter on Thursday, thanks to some heads-up baserunning from Ernie Clement in the first inning and RBI singles from George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the third and seventh innings.
Clement opened the scoring when he raced around from second after an Alejandro Kirk infield hit got away from Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, allowing the Blue Jays to steal a run right out of the gate.