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, while surrendering just three hits in Toronto’s 3-1 victory at Rogers Centre.
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 for 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.
“That was outstanding,” manager John Schneider said. “Limiting hard contact against a really good offensive team, especially the top of the order. And we played really good defense behind him.”
Tampa Bay’s lone run 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 two pitches later.
Thirteen of the 21 outs Bieber recorded in the game came on ground balls, as the former AL Cy Young winner worked the edges and didn’t give Rays batters much to drive.
Bieber also showed a bit more emotion in this outing than he has for most of the season -- something that he pointed to as a sign that he’s finding the right level of competitiveness when he’s taking the ball.
“I think that’s big for me,” Bieber said. “I think that came a little later than I would have liked, but that’s a big part of baseball. Going out there and competing; believing in yourself and your team. A lot of baseball is energy and rhythm, and I’ve been able to find that lately, so happy with that.”
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 All-Star 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,” 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.
“That’s a great example of guys doing what they need to do to help us win,” said Springer, who went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double. “For him to see what happened and to go [home]. To play with the hair on fire, to leave nothing in the tank is what I think everyone understands needs to happen.”
With the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline drawing near, the Blue Jays (47-56) will look to find those extra wins on the margins as they try to pull themselves out of their post-break funk.
But that looming Deadline will continue to dominate conversations -- especially for pending free agents like Bieber -- until the clock strikes 6 p.m. ET on the first Monday of August, whether teams like Toronto are ready for it or not.
“All I can do is control what’s in front of me, and that’s [his next start in] Washington and rooting the boys on here in Boston,” Bieber said. “All we can do is focus on what’s in front of us, play each game like it’s our last, go out there and win ballgames and let the chips fall where they may.”