TORONTO -- These bullpen days aren’t anyone’s "Plan A," but they’ve kept the Blue Jays afloat longer than anyone could have expected.
With Ernie Clement starring on the offensive side, launching a three-run home run in the third inning, the Blue Jays had all hands on deck in Saturday’s 6-4 win over the Orioles.
This is what else mattered from the win:
1. BOUNCEBACK: Spencer Miles
The Rule 5 Draft wonder was coming off a rare dud his last time out against the Orioles, when he allowed six runs over three innings and had more walks (three) than strikeouts (two). Bouncing back with Saturday’s performance was encouraging enough on its own, but especially against the same lineup of hitters.
Miles gave the Blue Jays 4 1/3 innings of two-run ball and struck out five, which felt much more like all of Miles' performances we’d seen prior to last week. This workload, at 73 pitches, seems to be the sweep spot for Miles and Toronto right now, allowing him to see the opposing lineup twice and pull the parachute just in time to hand off to the Blue Jays’ best bullpen arms.
“He’s done such a great job in whatever role,” Clement said. “The long guy out of the ‘pen, or even when he’s started, he’s been awesome. He shows a lot of poise for a young kid who hasn’t really pitched at a high Minor League level or been in the big leagues before. I love when he’s on the mound. He trusts his stuff. It’s fun to watch.”
Now at 40 2/3 innings, this could still go in so many different directions for Miles, who is essentially building up from “zero” after injuries and multiple surgeries kept him off the mound in the Minor Leagues.
Dylan Cease will be back soon and Max Scherzer next, then Shane Bieber tailing close behind. The Blue Jays could soon find themselves with five healthy starters, which is a rare luxury for them in this injury-plagued season. These bullpen games have worked out wonderfully, all things considered, but perhaps the likeliest outcome here is Miles sliding back into a more traditional multi-inning relief role, where he’d still be plenty valuable while the Blue Jays keep a close eye on his workload.
“It’s going to be valuable however we need to use him,” manager John Schneider said. “I think he’s in a good spot regardless. The fact that he’s built up is kind of like an added bonus.”
2. THE OLD WAYS: One big inning
The 2026 Blue Jays are still searching for their ‘25 selves, that all-around offensive identity which carried them to the World Series. So far, we’ve had to settle for glimpses of it, but Toronto’s third inning Saturday gave us another.
Clement’s big home run decided the game, but the Blue Jays piled on that inning and had the opportunity to do even more damage. Immediately after Clement’s homer, Brandon Valenzuela and Kazuma Okamoto both singled to keep the train rolling, then an Andrés Giménez RBI single added another run.
This is what the Blue Jays have been missing, the “something else” that turns a decent inning into a great one. Granted, Okamoto was caught between second and third on the Giménez RBI to end the inning and this could have been better, but this is the type of momentum the Blue Jays are trying to create. Too often, they’ve threatened and fallen short, maybe scraping out one run when three or four were possible.
3. HELP’S COMING: Bieber rehabs in Triple-A
What a week of pitching for the Buffalo Bisons, who just rolled out Cease, Scherzer and Bieber in rehab starts.
Bieber’s rehab outing Saturday was his third of this build-up, which is essentially mirroring a Spring Training for the former 2020 AL Cy Young winner. He threw 2 2/3 innings on 59 pitches (40 strikes) and while he allowed three runs on six hits (no walks and three strikeouts), his workload is the only important number at this point. Bieber’s fastball velocity was right where it needed to be, too, averaging 92 mph.
Framing this as a Spring Training, Bieber is three starts in and likely needs at least two more. If he can give the Blue Jays an extended version of what he provided down the stretch last season, after he was acquired from the Guardians and finished his Tommy John rehab, that will be a major boost to this rotation.