Blue Jays' Shane Bieber struggles with control, walks 6 in two-thirds of an inning vs. Nats

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber, a former Cy Young Award winner, issued walks to six of the nine batters he faced Tuesday night, including three with the bases loaded, before departing after two-thirds of an inning against the Washington Nationals. Toronto 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) Toronto 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) WASHINGTON (AP) — Toronto pitcher Shane Bieber’s start against the Washington Nationals was anything but a walk in the park. The former Cy Young Award winner issued walks to six of the nine batters he faced — including three with the bases loaded — before departing after two-thirds of an inning Tuesday night in the Blue Jays’ 8-6 loss. In his previous 149 pitching appearances, the 31-year-old right-hander’s high for walks was five.

According to Stathead/Baseball Reference, Bieber is the 11th pitcher in major league history to walk at least six while recording two outs or less, and the first to do so since Florida’s Ryan Dempster on Oct. Bieber said he had difficulty gripping the ball and struggled with his command as a result. Bieber didn’t walk anyone in his previous start Thursday, when he allowed one run in seven innings against Tampa Bay.

“You have to find a way to get through it, right, and I wasn’t able to do that tonight,” Bieber said. “Ultimately, I follow up what was maybe my best start as a Blue Jay with what was definitely my worst.” Bieber is the first Cy Young winner to have such an outing, although Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Christy Mathewson did, too. Bieber won the AL Cy Young in 2020.

Bieber threw 42 pitches, with only 15 strikes. He is the second player this season to throw that many pitches with so few strikes. Kansas City’s Eric Cerantola threw 14 strikes in a 42-pitch relief outing against Tampa Bay on June 30.

“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.