Guardians' Shane Bieber: Gives up season-high seven runs
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Bieber did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing seven runs on eight hits and two walks over four innings during a 12-8 win over the Orioles. He struck out four.
Bieber finished with season-worst marks in innings pitched, hits allowed and runs allowed, but he was let off the hook thanks to a five-run fifth by the Guardians' offense. It was by far the worst outing of the campaign for the right-hander, who entered the contest with a 3.04 ERA and 1.23 WHIP across his first 11 starts (71 innings). His decline in strikeouts this season -- he currently has just 53 strikeouts across 75 frames -- portends more regression to come with the ratios.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Earns win in lackluster outing
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Bieber (4-3) allowed two runs on five hits and four walks over 6.2 innings Friday, striking out two and earning a win over St. Louis.
It certainly wasn't Bieber's strongest outing, but he kept the Cardinals off the board through five innings before stumbling a bit near the end of his start. He's now allowed three or fewer runs in 10 of his first 11 starts this season, resulting in a 3.04 ERA across 71 innings. However, he's posted a pedestrian 49:19 K:BB after recording a season-low two punchouts Friday. Bieber's next start is projected to come next week in Minnesota.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Fires eight innings
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Bieber (3-3) allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks over eight innings during the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mets. He struck out four and took the loss.
Coming off his worst start of the year, Bieber turned in a strong outing but was still handed a loss. He cruised through five shutout frames before Francisco Lindor broke the shutout with a sixth-inning homer. Bieber has allowed three or fewer runs in nine of his 10 starts this season, resulting in a 3.08 ERA with a 47:15 K:BB. Since the start of May, he's posted a 3.04 ERA across 26.2 frames. Bieber's next outing is projected to be at home against the Cardinals.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Roughed up by ChiSox
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Bieber (3-2) took the loss Tuesday, allowing six runs (five earned) on 12 hits and zero walks over 4.2 innings against the White Sox. He struck out four.
Bieber had his worst start of the season Tuesday, setting season highs in hits allowed and earned runs while failing to make it to the sixth inning for the first time in nine starts. Though he made it through the first four frames without giving up a run, the White Sox finally got to him in the fifth inning by scoring six runs. The inning was highlighted by a three-run home run by Gavin Sheets that plated Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn, while a Jake Burger two-run long ball brought Yasmani Grandal home. Bieber failed to record a quality start for just the second time this season while increasing his season ERA to 3.20 from 2.61 and HR/9 to 0.96 from 0.70. The 28-year-old has not had his typical strikeout juice this year, owning what would be a career-low 6.87 K/9. Part of the reason for this decrease could be a dip in velocity. While throwing 92.9 mph in 2023, he held a 12.48 K/9, before dropping down to 91.5 mph in 2022 with an 8.91 K/9 and staying around 91.5 mph in 2023.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Blanks Detroit
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Bieber (3-1) earned the win Tuesday, allowing seven hits and one walk over six scoreless innings against the Tigers. He struck out nine.
Detroit managed seven hits against Bieber, but the 27-year-old right-hander held the Tigers off the scoresheet thanks to a season-high nine-strikeout performance. Bieber has logged quality starts in five of his six outings this year. He lowered his ERA to 2.61 with a 1.10 WHIP and 39:13 K:BB. He'll look to keep it rolling in his next outing, tentatively lined up for next week against the White Sox.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Efficient start not enough
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Bieber did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk over eight innings during a 4-3 loss to the Yankees in extras. He struck out four.
Aside from a pair of solo home runs in the fifth, Bieber was efficient and carved up the Yankees across a season-high eight innings. He currently sports a 2.96 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP through seven appearances, but there's some concerning trends to the start of his season. The long ball is slowly emerging as an issue for the right-hander, who's now surrendered four home runs over his past four starts, and his strikeout numbers are also down from previous years. He has 30 strikeouts through 45.2 innings after punching out 198 over 200 innings last year, and before that Bieber had posted at least one strikeout per inning over each of his previous four campaigns.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Picks up second win
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Bieber (2-1) earned a win over Boston on Friday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out four batters.
Bieber recorded exactly four punchouts for the fourth straight game. He's now sporting a lackluster 26:11 K:BB through 37.2 frames this season, and his 6.2 K/9 mark would be the lowest of his career. Bieber also forced just six whiffs, tying his season low. However, the 27-year-old has a solid 3.11 ERA and has given up three or fewer runs in each of his six outings. Bieber is projected to face the Twins at home next week.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Shaky control in Saturday's loss
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Bieber (1-1) took the loss in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Marlins, giving up three runs on four hits and four walks over 5.2 innings as the Guardians fell 6-1. He struck out four.
The right-hander did come within one out of his fifth straight quality start to begin the season, but Bieber got lifted after 103 pitches (65 strikes) following a Bryan De La Cruz homer and a Jean Segura double. The four free passes were also a season worst for Bieber, and he'll take a 3.23 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 22:9 K:BB through 30.2 innings into his next outing, likely to come next weekend in Boston.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Picks up first win
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Bieber (1-0) earned the win Monday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks over seven innings against the Yankees. He struck out four.
The Yankees got to Bieber for two runs in the first inning on an RBI double, but he managed to settle down and finish his outing with six scoreless frames. He didn't have his usual swing-and-miss stuff and was a bit wild at times, firing 56 of 99 pitches for strikes. Even so, he did enough to bring home his first victory of the 2023 campaign.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Doesn't factor into decision
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Bieber allowed three runs on three hits while striking out seven against one walk Tuesday against the Athletics, but he didn't factor into the decision.
Bieber allowed two runs in the third, and another run came across to score in the sixth on a wild pitch. The right-hander has gone six innings in both of his outings this year, and he's picked up two quality starts despite not factoring into either decision. He's scheduled to take the mound again early next week in a matchup with the Yankees.
Bieber did not factor into the decision Thursday in Seattle despite six scoreless innings on six hits and no walk. He struck out three.
Bieber and Luis Castillo traded zeros for six frames before the Mariners won a battle of the bullpens. Worth noting is that Bieber's velocity was down across the board -- his fastball topped out at 91.9 mph after averaging 91.3 mph in 2022 -- although it was also down last season and he made it work. It should tick back up as the year moves along, but his strikeout upside will remain limited unless he can rediscover his Cy Young velocity.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Set for Opening Day start
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Bieber will start Opening Day against the Mariners on Thursday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Bieber will officially be making his fourth straight Opening Day start for the Guardians. The right-hander has elevated himself to the upper echelon of starting pitchers in the league over the past few seasons, most recently producing a 2.88 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 198 strikeouts over 200 innings in 31 starts with Cleveland last year.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: On track to start Opening Day
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Guardians manager Terry Francona told reporters that Bieber is on track to start Opening Day against the Mariners, Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer reports.
Not a big surprise. Bieber will be starting Opening Day for the fourth consecutive season, and is coming off a 2022 season where he recorded a 2.88 ERA, 198 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP over 200 innings in 31 starts. While Bieber doesn't miss bats at the same level of some elite starters, he should again be a strong fantasy option for managers in the 2023 campaign.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Avoids arbitration
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Bieber signed a one-year, $10.01 million contract with the Guardians on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Coming off the heels of a 2.88 ERA, 1.04 WHIP season, the 27-year-old ace was in line for a pay increase from his $6 million salary last year. With a 2.91 ERA since 2019, Bieber remains one of the best and most reliable pitchers in all of baseball, and he shows no sign of slowing down heading into 2023.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Available in emergency in Game 5
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Bieber will be available in Cleveland's bullpen for Game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees on Tuesday, though he's unlikely to be used, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
The Guardians could have turned to Bieber on three days' rest to start Game 5, something the Yankees elected to do with Nestor Cortes, but they'll instead go with Aaron Civale. Cleveland seems to be trying to keep Bieber available to start Game 1 of the ALCS if at all possible, though the team will have to get there first.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Bumped back to Friday
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Bieber is scheduled to start Game 2 of the Guardians' ALDS matchup with the Yankees on Friday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Bieber was set to start Thursday, but a rainout pushed that game back a day, and he will take the ball Friday instead. Bieber was brilliant in his first appearance of the postseason, giving up just one earned run over 7.2 innings and picking up the win last Friday against the Rays.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Five good innings in win
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Bieber (13-8) earned the win Sunday against Kansas City, striking out three in five innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk.
After scattering two hits and a walk through the first three innings, Bieber ran into trouble in the fourth and was the victim of some bad defense. The Royals hit three singles in the fourth and scored one of their two runs following a throwing error by Gabriel Arias. The five frames completed brought Bieber's season total to exactly 200, his second time reaching that mark in his career. He lines up to start one of the first two games of the American League Wild Card series at the end of the week in Cleveland.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: One bad inning in no-decision
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Bieber allowed four runs on six hits while striking out six in six innings of a 6-5 extra-innings loss Tuesday against Tampa Bay. He did not factor into the decision.
After scattering two hits in the first three innings, Bieber struggled to get outs in the fourth inning. Four batters recorded hits, including Jose Siri's two-out, two-run homer. Following the offensive outburst, Bieber retired the last seven batters he faced. The poor inning ended his streak of 11 straight quality starts. While he's compiled a 2.51 ERA in six September starts, he's also given up seven long balls, equal to the total in his previous 17 starts combined.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Goes 7.2 frames in victory
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Bieber (12-8) earned the win over the White Sox on Thursday, completing 7.2 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out five batters.
Bieber yielded a run in the first inning but didn't allow Chicago to get back on the scoreboard until Gavin Sheets took him deep for a solo homer in the eighth. The righty hurler ended up with his fourth straight victory and his 11th consecutive quality start. Over that 11-game stretch, Bieber has posted an impressive 1.75 ERA and 79:9 K:BB along with an 8-2 record across 77.1 frames.
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Guardians' Shane Bieber: Notches 11th win
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Bieber (11-8) gave up one run on four hits and zero walks while striking out six in eight innings Saturday against the Twins. He picked up the win.
Bieber was in complete control, save for a solo home run from rookie Matt Wallner in the eighth inning on a hanging breaking ball. He has given up exactly one earned run in five of his last six starts. Bieber is on pace to make his next start in Chicago against the White Sox next week.
