After losing a disappointing series to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com">Blue Jays</a> are getting an injection of anticipation and excitement heading into their next series that may rid them of this week&#8217;s shortcomings.
That would be the addition of former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber to Toronto&#8217;s rotation. Although officially acquired by trade on July 31st from the Cleveland Guardians, Bieber has been rehabbing since then at triple-A Buffalo from Tommy John surgery, a procedure he had done in April of 2024.
The surgery followed what was a promising start to his 2024 season; he struck out 20 hitters versus just one walk and didn&#8217;t allow an earned run between his two outings versus the A&#8217;s and Mariners.
Bieber has made three starts with the Bisons since the trade, owning a 2.04 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 8.2 K/9 over 17 2/3 innings. His workload increased each time, with his final outing last week lasting seven innings and 90 pitches total. Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blair-barker/id541972447?i=1000722710041">mentioned</a> on Sportsnet&#8217;s Blair and Barker earlier this week that Bieber is a &#8220;full go&#8221; ahead of his first start back in the majors.
Bieber has faced the Marlins just once in his career, on April 22nd, 2023 start in Cleveland. As a fun fact, current Nick Sandlin was the first reliever out of the bullpen for the Guardians in that game, and Myles Straw and Andrés Giménez were both in the starting lineup. Although taking the loss in that game, Miami&#8217;s roster looks almost completely different now. One at-bat against centre fielder Derek Hill and two at-bats against left fielder Joey Wiemer are all the experience Bieber has against this batch of Marlins.
The Marlins are rolling with one of their newest acquisitions in 26-year-old righty Ryan Gusto, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Houston Astros in a deal featuring outfielder Jesús Sánchez. Gusto appeared as a starter and as a reliever with Houston, and he&#8217;s made one start so far with Miami. He&#8217;s made a pair of starts with their triple-A club, but with <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/braves-claim-cal-quantrill-off-waivers">Cal Quantrill</a> being claimed off waivers by the Braves, Gusto may be here to stay from now until the end of the year.
At the major league level this year, Gusto has posted a 4.89 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 9.3 K/9 over 25 total appearances. He faced the Blue Jays earlier this season and earned a win after going 5 2/3 frames, allowing three hits, one run, one walk, and six strikeouts. George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Giménez were the source of all three hits, with Springer&#8217;s double producing Toronto&#8217;s only run of the game.
The Marlins have been playing solid baseball with a 37-34 record since June, and due to Atlanta&#8217;s poor season, they find themselves third in the NL East. The power in their offense has primarily come from a pair of young 2024 trade deadline adds in outfielder Kyle Stowers and catcher Agustín Ramírez, but the former will be out of this series due to an oblique strain. Nonetheless, that duo has combined for 43 home runs, 129 RBIs and 48 doubles this season.
Still no Guerrero Jr. in tonight&#8217;s lineup as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury he suffered in Pittsburgh. Ty France, who is hitting .311 with an .802 OPS since joining the Blue Jays, starts in his spot and will bat sixth. Alejandro Kirk will catch his 89th game of the season tonight, just four off of his career high from 2023.
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Location: loanDepot Park &#8211; Miami, FL
First Pitch: 7:10 EST
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
Toronto Blue Jays &#8211;  Shane Bieber: 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB
Miami Marlins &#8211;  Ryan Gusto: 7-5 record, 4.89 ERA, 92 IP, 95 SO, 30 BB
<h2>Lineups:</h2>
Blue Jays:
<ol>
<li>George Springer &#8211; DH</li>
<li>Addison Barger &#8211; RF</li>
<li>Bo Bichette &#8211; SS</li>
<li>Alejandro Kirk &#8211; C</li>
<li>Daulton Varsho &#8211; CF</li>
<li>Ty France &#8211; 1B</li>
<li>Nathan Lukes &#8211; LF</li>
<li>Ernie Clement &#8211; 3B</li>
<li>Andrés Giménez &#8211; 2B</li>
</ol>
Marlins:
<ol>
<li>Xavier Edwards &#8211; 2B</li>
<li>Jakob Marsee &#8211; RF</li>
<li>Agustín Ramírez &#8211; DH</li>
<li>Otto López &#8211; SS</li>
<li>Liam Hicks &#8211; C</li>
<li>Heriberto Hernández &#8211; LF</li>
<li>Troy Johnston &#8211; 1B</li>
<li>Derek Hill &#8211; CF</li>
<li>Javier Sanoja &#8211; 3B</li>
</ol>

After losing a disappointing series to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com">Blue Jays</a> are getting an injection of anticipation and excitement heading into their next series that may rid them of this week's shortcomings.

That would be the addition of former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber to Toronto's rotation. Although officially acquired by trade on July 31st from the Cleveland Guardians, Bieber has been rehabbing since then at triple-A Buffalo from Tommy John surgery, a procedure he had done in April of 2024.

The surgery followed what was a promising start to his 2024 season; he struck out 20 hitters versus just one walk and didn't allow an earned run between his two outings versus the A's and Mariners.

Bieber has made three starts with the Bisons since the trade, owning a 2.04 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 8.2 K/9 over 17 2/3 innings. His workload increased each time, with his final outing last week lasting seven innings and 90 pitches total. Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blair-barker/id541972447?i=1000722710041">mentioned</a> on Sportsnet's Blair and Barker earlier this week that Bieber is a "full go" ahead of his first start back in the majors.

Bieber has faced the Marlins just once in his career, on April 22nd, 2023 start in Cleveland. As a fun fact, current Nick Sandlin was the first reliever out of the bullpen for the Guardians in that game, and Myles Straw and Andrés Giménez were both in the starting lineup. Although taking the loss in that game, Miami's roster looks almost completely different now. One at-bat against centre fielder Derek Hill and two at-bats against left fielder Joey Wiemer are all the experience Bieber has against this batch of Marlins.

The Marlins are rolling with one of their newest acquisitions in 26-year-old righty Ryan Gusto, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Houston Astros in a deal featuring outfielder Jesús Sánchez. Gusto appeared as a starter and as a reliever with Houston, and he's made one start so far with Miami. He's made a pair of starts with their triple-A club, but with <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/braves-claim-cal-quantrill-off-waivers">Cal Quantrill</a> being claimed off waivers by the Braves, Gusto may be here to stay from now until the end of the year.

At the major league level this year, Gusto has posted a 4.89 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 9.3 K/9 over 25 total appearances. He faced the Blue Jays earlier this season and earned a win after going 5 2/3 frames, allowing three hits, one run, one walk, and six strikeouts. George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Giménez were the source of all three hits, with Springer's double producing Toronto's only run of the game.

The Marlins have been playing solid baseball with a 37-34 record since June, and due to Atlanta's poor season, they find themselves third in the NL East. The power in their offense has primarily come from a pair of young 2024 trade deadline adds in outfielder Kyle Stowers and catcher Agustín Ramírez, but the former will be out of this series due to an oblique strain. Nonetheless, that duo has combined for 43 home runs, 129 RBIs and 48 doubles this season.

Still no Guerrero Jr. in tonight's lineup as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury he suffered in Pittsburgh. Ty France, who is hitting .311 with an .802 OPS since joining the Blue Jays, starts in his spot and will bat sixth. Alejandro Kirk will catch his 89th game of the season tonight, just four off of his career high from 2023.

<hr />

<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
Location: loanDepot Park - Miami, FL

First Pitch: 7:10 EST

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
Toronto Blue Jays -  Shane Bieber: 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB

Miami Marlins -  Ryan Gusto: 7-5 record, 4.89 ERA, 92 IP, 95 SO, 30 BB
<h2>Lineups:</h2>
Blue Jays:
<ol>
 	<li>George Springer - DH</li>
 	<li>Addison Barger - RF</li>
 	<li>Bo Bichette - SS</li>
 	<li>Alejandro Kirk - C</li>
 	<li>Daulton Varsho - CF</li>
 	<li>Ty France - 1B</li>
 	<li>Nathan Lukes - LF</li>
 	<li>Ernie Clement - 3B</li>
 	<li>Andrés Giménez - 2B</li>
</ol>
Marlins:
<ol>
 	<li>Xavier Edwards - 2B</li>
 	<li>Jakob Marsee - RF</li>
 	<li>Agustín Ramírez - DH</li>
 	<li>Otto López - SS</li>
 	<li>Liam Hicks - C</li>
 	<li>Heriberto Hernández - LF</li>
 	<li>Troy Johnston - 1B</li>
 	<li>Derek Hill - CF</li>
 	<li>Javier Sanoja - 3B</li>
</ol>

Blue Jays GDB – 129.0: Shane Bieber makes his season and Blue Jays debut in series opener versus Marlins

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