Blue Jays’ Bieber, former Guardians ace, walks record six in first inning

SportsToronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber walks back to the dugout after he was pulled from a baseball game in the first inning against the Washington Nationals, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)AP Photo/Nick WassToronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber simply didn’t have it on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals.Bieber walked a record-tying six batters in two-thirds of an inning against the Nats, including three walks with the bases loaded. He exited the game after nine batters and with the Jays trailing 4-0.Washington defeated Toronto, 8-6, at Nationals Park.Bieber is the fourth pitcher in MLB’s divisional era (since 1969) to walk six batters in the first inning of a game. The previous pitchers were Daniel Cabrera with the Baltimore Orioles in 2006, Ryan Dempster with the Florida Marlins in 2001 and Todd Van Poppel with the Oakland A’s in 1994, according to StatMuse.Bieber’s previous career high for walks in a game was five. He walked a total of five batters in his previous three starts combined before Tuesday.Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after the game that Bieber was “sweating a lot” and had trouble gripping the ball. Game temperature was reported to be 73 degrees Fahrenheit and clear.“I have no excuses,” Bieber told reporters. “I have to find a way to get out of that first inning. Dry my hands off and change shirts and eat up innings after that. That’s what I was trying to do and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like that happen.”Bieber also failed to record a strikeout in a game for the first time since May 7, 2022, while with the Cleveland Guardians in an 8-3 loss to Toronto. “You got to find a way to get through it, right, and I wasn’t able to do that tonight,” he said. “Ultimately, I follow up what was maybe my best start as a Blue Jay with what was definitely my worst. Nobody is more frustrated than me. I let the guys down tonight and I wear that wholeheartedly.”In his previous start, Bieber allowed one run in seven innings in a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23.Bieber is rumored to be on the trading block as the MLB trade deadline nears on Aug. 3. The Blue Jays (49-59) are currently 14 games behind the Rays in the American League East and 5.5 games behind in the AL wild card standings.The 31-year-old right-hander was acquired by Toronto from Cleveland on July 31, 2025. Bieber spent eight seasons in Cleveland from 2018-25, including winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2020. He also earned All-Star selections in 2019 and 2021.Zach Mentz is Trending Sports and News Reporter for cleveland.com / The Plain Dealer. His past interviews include NFL Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, ESPN's Adam Schefter,...