Blue Jays' pitching Biebs makes franchise debut in Triple-A Buffalo

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The centre of the Jays’ attention Sunday afternoon was firmly on the comings and goings at Rogers Centre.

In the backdrop was Shane Bieber’s rehab outing at Sahlen Field in Buffalo where the former Cy Young Award winner and the big club’s major trade deadline acquisition.

Bieber has made four starts in the minors as he continues to move up the ladder following Tommy John surgery, each as a member the Cleveland Guardians.

His fifth start came against the Syracuse Mets in Bieber’s first with the Blue Jays.

In his previous four, the right-hander pitched a combined 11.1 innings, while posting an ERA of 1.59.

Given his pedigree and potential impact on the big-league club, the anticipation and interest in Bieber’s Sunday start was predictably high.

If all goes well in the coming weeks, it is easy to envision a Jays’ rotation with Bieber as its ace.

Sunday began with Bieber recording two swinging strikeouts in succession on six consecutive strikes before Prince George’s Jared Young singled into centre field.

Of the 13 pitches tossed by Bieber in the first inning, 12 were strikes.

In the second, Bieber issued an eight-pitch leadoff walk, a balk and single before yielding a two-out RBI single.

The inning ended when Bieber picked off a runner at first base in a 17-pitch frame that clearly was not as effective as the first inning.

In the third, Bieber gave up a two-run homer with two outs, the second longball he has surrendered in Bieber’s past two starts.

Bieber had a three-up, three-down fourth inning, his first 1-2-3 inning on the afternoon.

He worked around a leadoff single in the fifth to record three outs in a row, the first on a strikeout.

And that was it for Bieber, who went 5.0 innings, would give up five hits, while striking out six.

Of Bieber’s 62 pitches, 47 were strikes.

For a Blue Jays management group known to be risk averse, at least among fans, Bieber’s acquisition was viewed as a huge departure.

Bieber is earning US $10 million this season and has a $16 million player option for next year.

In theory, the Jays may have him for a short time.

Big picture, they may have found a critical pitching piece if Bieber enjoys the baseball environment the Jays have created and if the team goes deep into the playoffs.

— Zicarelli