Shane Bieber walks six in Blue Jays first inning vs Nationals
Toronto’s Shane Bieber walked six Nationals, three with the bases loaded, in a two-thirds-inning start that entered rare MLB company.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Shane Bieber walks six is not a line anyone expected from the former AL Cy Young winner, but that was the story Tuesday night in Washington. ESPN News Services reported that the Toronto Blue Jays right-hander issued six walks to the nine Nationals batters he faced before manager John Schneider removed him with two outs in the first inning.
Three of those walks came with the bases loaded, turning a rough opening frame into a rare statistical mess. ESPN reported that Bieber, 31, had never walked more than five batters in any of his previous 149 pitching appearances.
Bieber threw 42 pitches and only 15 were strikes, according to ESPN News Services. ESPN reported that he became the second pitcher this season to throw at least 42 pitches while landing so few strikes, after Kansas City’s Eric Cerantola threw 14 strikes in a 42-pitch relief appearance against Tampa Bay on June 30.
How rare was Shane Bieber walking six in the first inning?
According to ESPN Research, Bieber is the fourth pitcher in the divisional era, meaning MLB’s period since leagues split into divisions in 1969, to walk six batters in the first inning of a game. The others were Todd Van Poppel in 1994, Ryan Dempster in 2001 and Daniel Cabrera in 2006.
ESPN Research also reported that Bieber is the first Cy Young Award winner to have that kind of first-inning walk total. Bieber won the American League Cy Young Award in 2020. ESPN noted that Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Christy Mathewson also had such outings.
What happened in the Nationals’ first inning?
Washington began the inning with James Wood drawing a leadoff walk, ESPN News Services reported. Luis Garcia Jr. then hit a grounder to second before Dylan Crews worked another walk.
CJ Abrams followed with an infield single, setting up the first bases-loaded walk. Keibert Ruiz took four pitches to force in the opening run, and Daylen Lile then drew another walk to bring home a second.
Nasim Nunez added a sacrifice fly, according to ESPN News Services. Jorbit Vivas then worked the fifth walk of the inning, loading the bases again and bringing Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker to the mound.
Bieber stayed in for Jacob Young, but the inning did not settle down. ESPN reported that Young saw six pitches: three balls, two called strikes, then a slider far outside the strike zone that forced in Washington’s fourth run.
That was the end of Bieber’s night. Schneider came out to replace him after two-thirds of an inning, and reliever Brendon Little finished the frame by getting Wood to ground out, ESPN News Services reported.
The Associated Press contributed to ESPN’s report.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.