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Blue Jays’ offence picked up Shane Bieber following rough first inning in Game 3
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Photo credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Oct 16, 2025, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 16, 2025, 11:58 EDT
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After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning in Game 3 of the ALCS, right-hander Shane Bieber delivered a message to his teammates as he walked into the third-base dugout at T-Mobile Park: “Pick me up.”
Bieber, making his second Game 3 start of the 2025 post-season, needed to produce a quality outing for both the Toronto Blue Jays — who were already facing a 2-0 series deficit — and himself, considering he surrendered three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk over 2.2 innings versus the New York Yankees in the ALDS.
But things got off to a rocky start on Wednesday, as Bieber walked Randy Arozarena to begin the first before allowing a two-run home run to Julio Rodríguez. Afterwards, he gave up a double to Jorge Polanco but was able to retire the next two batters to extinguish Seattle’s early rally.
Still, Bieber felt confident about the shape and movements of his pitches. All he needed was for the club’s offence to punch back to give him a chance to reset, and they certainly responded.
“It was an unfortunate start, but I came into the dugout and told the guys like, ‘Pick me up, like, I got good stuff tonight,’ and they definitely listened and picked me up in a huge way, was able to go back out there in that second inning and kind of reestablish what I wanted to do,” Bieber said of the message to his teammates between innings.
“So I felt like even though we were down, we were able to grab some momentum and this game is so much momentum-based, and so we didn’t really look back after that, so it was awesome.”
George Kirby faced the minimum across the first two innings and seemed to be cruising with a 2-0 lead. That made Bieber’s shutdown second inning, where he punched out the side on 12 pitches (nine strikes), all the more vital to the Blue Jays’ eventual 13-4 comeback win.
Toronto’s offence awoke with a five-run third and continued tacking on runs over each of the next three innings, exploding for 12 runs by the time the top of the sixth concluded.
Bieber, meanwhile, continued to do his part on the mound. The 30-year-old righty was locked in the rest of the way, retiring 17 of his final 19 batters faced — eight via strikeout, matching his post-season career-high — and only allowing a pair of singles.
What clicked for Bieber after that first inning? He adjusted to the Mariners’ lineup by leaning heavily on his slider, which he threw 30 per cent of the time — its highest usage in a game (regular season or playoffs) since May 9, 2023 (34.7 per cent) — and generated seven whiffs on 12 swings.
It was exactly the type of performance that the Blue Jays needed from Bieber in Game 3. He rose to the occasion just as he has before, and that’s precisely why this organization took a gamble to acquire him from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline.
“That’s what they brought me here to do,” Bieber said, “and I remember this time last year having not thrown a ball for a while, just thinking I can’t wait to pitch in big games. So I find myself here in the ALCS and was able to do that tonight. So happy with how things are playing out, but we’re still down 2-1 and there’s a lot left to do.”
There’s still work to do, of course, but landing a few upper cuts here is a great first step for Toronto. Before Game 3, all the momentum belonged to Seattle. But it has now started tipping back in the other direction.
Bieber’s remarkable bounce-back effort has not only revived the Blue Jays’ chances in this series, but it also provided a much-needed night off for an overworked bullpen — which only used Braydon Fisher, Yariel Rodríguez and Mason Fluharty on Wednesday.
So, with Max Scherzer starting Game 4, that means manager John Schneider should have his full weaponry of bullpen arms rested and available — particularly Louis Varland, Seranthony Domínguez, Brendon Little and closer Jeff Hoffman — as this team attempts to even up the series at two wins apiece.

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