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Blue Jays’ Shane Bieber looks as advertised in electric home debut
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Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Aug 29, 2025, 23:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 1, 2025, 11:04 EDT
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It didn’t end with the outcome that the Toronto Blue Jays wanted, but Shane Bieber definitely looked the part in his home debut Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, matching blow-for-blow with Freddy Peralta.
You could feel the electricity in the building before Bieber’s first pitch. The fan base, which sold out Rogers Centre to kick off the Labour Day long weekend, was ready for this one.
As Bieber — acquired by the Blue Jays from the Cleveland Guardians during the morning of last month’s trade deadline, sending prized pitching prospect Khal Stephen in return — made his way to the club’s dugout after finishing his warm-ups in the bullpen, he was, unsprisingly, treated to a loud ovation from the home crowd. You could draw all the comparisons to David Price’s sensational 2015 debut.
And, similar to that memorable outing, Bieber did his part, too.
The 2020 AL Cy Young winner was remarkable, especially out of the gate, striking out the side — which included the likes of Brice Turang, William Contreras and Christian Yelich, the best the Brewers have to offer — on 15 pitches (10 strikes). Two of those punchouts came via his four-seamer — the second at 93.8-m.p.h., his hardest pitch of the night — with the other on his slider.
Facing the Brewers, who hold the best record in baseball, improving to 84-52 with Friday’s 7-2 victory, was destined to be a much tougher test for Bieber compared to his first start versus a young, albeit pesky, Marlins lineup. And that’s exactly what it was, as they chased the 30-year-old from his home debut with one out in the sixth inning.
Milwaukee’s offence is very similar to Toronto’s — they hit for a lot of contact, work deep counts, don’t chase or strikeout much, earn plenty of walks and elevate pitchers’ pitch counts. They succeeded in that approach versus Bieber, forcing him to throw 92 pitches (59 strikes) before giving way to a struggling Blue Jays’ bullpen — whose recent woes continued in Friday’s opener.
Having said that, Bieber did well to grind right alongside the Brewers’ lineup, limiting them to a pair of runs — the second was charged after he departed — on five hits and zero walks while striking out six over 5.1 impressive innings. He only made one mistake all night, hanging a slider to Andruw Monasterio that landed for a solo home run.
“I felt good,” Bieber said of his home debut despite receiving the loss. “It was really exciting to get my first start at Rogers Centre under my belt. I came out maybe a little bit too amped up. I would’ve liked to control the [strike] zone a little bit better throughout my outing. But I thought I competed really well.”
Analyzing his outing, Bieber felt he didn’t command his pitches as well as he did in Miami. Nor did he feel like he threw enough first-pitch strikes — he had 11 on the night. But overall, it was good enough, and the electric atmosphere, at least during the first half of the game, subjected him to a playoff-esque environment.
That’s something the veteran righty has noticed since arriving in Toronto. Considering the likelihood of him starting a post-season game for this team, it was certainly “great practice” for a franchise with World Series aspirations.
While Bieber did his job, Toronto’s bullpen and offence did not do the same.
Peralta dominated this Blue Jays lineup over six scoreless innings of one-hit ball, striking out eight. Not a single baserunner reached further than second base against him. It was pure filth from the Brewers’ ace, whose 12-6 curveball was responsible for half of his punchouts, inducing seven whiffs on 13 swings (54 per cent).
The two hardest batted balls came against Peralta early on — a 113.2-m.p.h. first-inning lineout from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a 108.1 double from Alejandro Kirk in the second, Toronto’s lone hit off the two-time All-Star. It was mostly soft contact from that point on. At least, until they snapped Milwaukee’s shutout with a two-run seventh.
This late into the year, the Blue Jays can’t afford to waste stellar performances like Bieber’s. As they dropped the opener to the Brewers, their margin for error within the still wide-open AL East continued to shrink, with the New York Yankees leapfrogging the Boston Red Sox for second place, jumping to just three games out of first.
With Kevin Gausman starting Saturday, looking to conclude a strong August performance, there’s hope that this club can get back on track in the middle contest of this three-game set. But the offence needs to provide support, too. That’s the easiest way to alleviate pressure on a struggling ‘pen.
For Bieber, who’s racked up 15 strikeouts through his first two starts as a Blue Jay, second behind only Price’s 18 in franchise history, when he’ll make his next outing hasn’t been officially decided. He could conclude next week’s series in Cincinnati versus the Reds. But there’s probably a higher chance he kicks off a pivotal three-game series in the Bronx next weekend.
Either way, if he looks anything like these last two starts, or even a touch better than his latest performance, the Blue Jays’ starting rotation will be in very good hands moving forward.
“He’s as good as anyone in the game,” manager John Schneider said post-game Friday. “He’s got nothing to prove to me [or] to the league. He’s really *bleeping* good.”

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