Bieber completes long road back with 9-K gem in Blue Jays debut

MIAMI -- Blue Jays manager John Schneider grinned wide and proclaimed himself a diehard fan.

“I’ve got Bieber Fever,” he said, proudly. “I’m a believer.”

You could certainly say Shane Bieber's return from April 2024 Tommy John surgery was a rousing success.

The 2020 American League Cy Young winner worked six strong innings in his Blue Jays debut and fueled a 5-2 win over the Marlins on Friday night at loanDepot Park. Bieber yielded one run on two hits and struck out nine without issuing a walk across 87 pitches.

“I was able to fall into a nice little rhythm pretty early tonight, and that’s a big part of pitching, especially for me,” Bieber said. “It felt very familiar. I was happy with how everything felt. It didn’t feel foreign whatsoever.”

“Usually coming back from that injury, command is kind of the last thing,” Schneider said. “For one, I’m happy for Shane. It’s a long road to get back here. And to go out and pitch the way he did ... efficient, great tempo. [His] changeup was ridiculous, slider was great, spotted his fastball. Everything you look for in a guy that’s won a Cy Young, and he made it look way easier than it is for most people coming off that surgery.”

Bieber stepped on a Major League mound for the first time in 507 days with a 3-0 lead, thanks to Daulton Varsho’s RBI double and Ty France’s two-run single -- both with two outs -- in the top of the first inning off Marlins starter Ryan Gusto.

And Bieber, who had last pitched on April 2, 2024, for the Guardians and threw 12 scoreless innings in two starts before being shut down, looked sharp right away.

The 30-year-old right-hander struck out the first batter, Xavier Edwards, on an 82.6 mph knuckle curve after setting him up with two fastballs and a changeup. Bieber followed by fanning Jakob Marsee on an 89.3 mph changeup before his first mistake -- a fastball that plunked Agustín Ramírez on the left forearm. On the next pitch, Bieber retired Liam Hicks on a flyout to center.

Bieber seemed on his way to another 1-2-3 inning in the second before 5-foot-7, 150-pound Javier Sanoja crushed a 93.7 mph fastball a Statcast-projected 397 feet to center for a solo home run with two outs. Down 1-2 in the count, Sanoja battled through a 10-pitch at-bat to win the duel.

“That was honestly a great at-bat,” Bieber said. “He put a great swing on it after fouling off a bunch of great pitches.”

Bieber retired the side in order the next three innings, striking out the side in the fourth.

The Blue Jays stretched their lead to 5-1 in the sixth on Varsho’s two-run homer to right-center off Gusto.

The Marlins didn’t get their second hit off Bieber until the sixth, when Marsee singled. Two pitches later, the inning was over, and so was a successful night for Bieber.

“I’m very happy with how tonight went,” Bieber said. “It’s been a long road. I’m happy to continue to build off how I was 16 months ago. I feel like I’m continuing to get better. A lot of positive signs. It’s just a matter of continuing to put one foot in front of the other and building.”

Bieber and Schneider shared a long embrace in the dugout after his outing.

“I just said, ‘Five hundred and whatever days it was in between, you should sit back and enjoy this. Congratulations,’” Schneider said. “You hate getting emotional on the field or in the dugout. But you could feel he felt the relief of getting back out there. ... When you’re looking at a really good starting pitcher get back to doing what he’s great at, that’s the highlight of your day.”

After the game, Bieber spent time with his family outside the visitors’ clubhouse.

“For me, all day today, I just felt a lot of gratitude for what’s been a long road for my family and my support system that keep me going every day,” he said. “Just awesome to share this moment with them.”

Schneider said before the game there were no restrictions on how many innings Bieber would pitch, though he would likely cap him at 100 pitches.

Toronto acquired Bieber from Cleveland at this year’s Trade Deadline as he was continuing his rehab. Bieber had made four rehab starts for Guardians affiliates and three more with Triple-A Buffalo the past three weeks.

Bieber finished his seven rehab starts with a 1.86 ERA across 29 innings and 37 strikeouts.