During his final outing before the MLB trade deadline on Aug. 3, Toronto Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber tossed a dud, walking six first-inning batters at Nationals Park on Tuesday night.
No other pitcher in Blue Jays history issued that many bases on balls in one frame in franchise history. He also walked the second-most batters in the first inning in major-league history.
Pulled after 42 pitches and only 15 strikes, Bieber’s pitching line was unique. No other hurler in league history surrendered four runs on one hit with zero strikeouts and six walks. He also failed to induce one whiff.
Washington Nationals leadoff batter James Wood worked a six-pitch walk.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Bieber broke a scoreless tie by issuing back-to-back walks, missing on all four deliveries to Keibert Ruiz and losing Daylen Lile on an 84-mph slider that could have been ruled a strike if challenged.
Down 3-0 and with the bases loaded again, Bieber fell behind 3-0 to Jacob Young. After taking two strikes, Young, who didn’t swing during the six-pitch plate appearance, earned an RBI.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider pulled Bieber (2-2), clinching the shortest outing in his nine-year career. The Nationals earned an 8-6 win.
Did Bieber pull himself out of the trade market?
In 2021, Bieber, then with the Cleveland Guardians, registered four consecutive starts with at least 11 strikeouts. In 2026, he had yet to find a similar groove, walking at least three batters in four of his first seven starts.
After not making his first start until June 23, Bieber started slowly, going 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in his first three starts. On July 4, he allowed seven earned runs on six hits in an 11-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
Over his previous three outings, entering Tuesday, Bieber rebounded, going 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA, making himself a prime trade candidate.
Did Tuesday’s start change his status?
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