syracuse
Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Shane Bieber endured a disastrous start against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, tying a major league record by issuing six walks in the opening frame. The former Cy Young Award winner managed to record just two outs before being pulled, having surrendered four runs on no hits while walking three batters with the bases loaded.
Bieber's control issues led to an early exit after facing nine batters, with the Nationals taking a 4-0 lead. Washington went on to defeat Toronto 8-6 at Nationals Park. According to StatMuse, Bieber became the fourth pitcher in the divisional era (since 1969) to walk six batters in the first inning, joining Daniel Cabrera (2006), Ryan Dempster (2001), and Todd Van Poppel (1994).
The outing marked a stark contrast to Bieber's previous start, where he allowed just one run over seven innings in a win against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23. Bieber's career high for walks in a game had been five, and he had walked only five batters total in his prior three starts combined.
Key Analysis
Blue Jays manager John Schneider revealed after the game that Bieber was sweating profusely and struggled to grip the ball, despite the game temperature being a mild 73 degrees Fahrenheit. Bieber himself offered no excuses, telling reporters, "I have to find a way to get out of that first inning. Dry my hands off and change shirts and eat up innings after that. That's what I was trying to do and unfortunately, I wasn't able to."
Bieber also failed to record a strikeout for the first time since May 7, 2022, when he was with the Cleveland Guardians. "Ultimately, I follow up what was maybe my best start as a Blue Jay with what was definitely my worst," Bieber said. "Nobody is more frustrated than me. I let the guys down tonight and I wear that wholeheartedly."
The 31-year-old right-hander, who won the AL Cy Young in 2020 and was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021, was acquired by Toronto from Cleveland on July 31, 2025. With the trade deadline approaching on August 3, Bieber has been the subject of trade rumors. The Blue Jays, now 49-59, sit 14 games behind the Rays in the AL East and 5.5 games out of the wild card race.
Originally reported by syracuse.