Bieber's first strikeout of the night 😮💨
Blue Jays: Shane Bieber throws five scoreless innings for Bisons
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Jun 12, 2026, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 12, 2026, 12:05 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays rotation is inching closer to full health.
In their last series against the Philadelphia Phillies, both Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer made their return to the rotation with varying degrees of success. Cease was terrific, striking out 11 over six innings of one run ball. But Scherzer’s struggles continued.
It doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that the next time Scherzer’s spot in the rotation comes up, likely next Wednesday, Shane Bieber will start the game. On Thursday, Bieber made a rehab start with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, and it was a good one.
In the first inning, Bieber generated back-to-back ground outs, before getting Nick Morabito to line out. He began the second inning by getting Ryan Clifford to chase a 91.4 mph four-seam fastball above the zone.
Following his first strikeout, Bieber allowed his first hit of the game, a single hit by Andy Ibáñez. Bieber was able to get out of it though, striking out Jackson Cluff with a 91.3 mph fastball that caught the inside corner, then generating a pop out to end the inning.
Moving to the top of the third, Matt Rudick hit a lead-off double. He attempted to score after Kevin Parada hit a single, but was thrown out at home. No other base runner got a hit in the third inning, as Ji Hwan Bae flew out and Yonny Hernández grounded out to end the inning.
For the second consecutive inning, Bieber allowed the lead-off runner to get on base, as Morabito hit a lead-off single. But once again, he stranded the base runner, as Clifford flew out, Ibáñez grounded out into a fielder’s choice, and Cluff grounded out.
In his final inning, Bieber struck out the lead-off hitter, Grae Kessinger. Bieber generated three consecutive whiffs on sliders down and away, and punched out Kessinger with an 84.6 mph slider. Next up was Rudick, who watched an 81.6 mph knuckle curve paint the outside edge of the zone for Bieber’s fourth strikeout of the game.
Shane Bieber had four strikeouts last night, this was his best one. Three consecutive down-and-away sliders, all whiffs.
The lone walk Bieber surrendered in this game came following the back-to-back strikeouts. Then Bae’s double put two runners on scoring position with no outs. But again Bieber stranded the base runners, getting Hernández to ground out to end his outing. Bieber finished his third rehab start with a line of 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
All told, Bieber threw 62 pitches, 46 of which were for strikes. His eight whiffs were the second-most in the game, bested by only Syracuse Mets starter Jack Wenninger’s nine. In total, he generated 32 swings, giving him a 25 whiff %. His best pitch was the slider, generating three whiffs on three total swings.
Bieber’s velocity was down from last year’s average, with the heater sitting at 91.4 mph (down from his 2025 average of 92.6 mph), maxing out at 93 mph. Bieber has always been a control-over-heat type of pitcher, but the velocity drop is a bit concerning.
We’ll see where his next start comes. Perhaps the Jays wish to get him up to 80 or so pitches, but their rotation clearly needs help at the moment.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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