Shane Bieber’s playoff dud against Yankees should leave Guardians fans conflicted

In the 2022 postseason, all of baseball got to see Shane Bieber at the height of his powers. After opening the postseason with 7 2/3 stellar innings against the Rays in the Wild Card Round, he came within one out of posting a quality start against the Yankees in the American League Division Series when he allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings in an eventual Guardians win. 

On Tuesday, the baseball world got to see Bieber back in the postseason.. and it left a lot to be desired. After the Blue Jays offense staked Bieber to an early 6-1 lead, he didn’t make it out of the third inning in the Yankees’ comeback win. 

In total, Bieber allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with just one walk and two strikeouts. Not exactly the kind of performance the Blue Jays expected when they gave up top pitching prospect to get him from the Guardians. 

And while Bieber’s rough start takes away a bit of the sting from the Guardians trading him away, it also extended the Yankees season for another day, which isn’t much fun for Guardians fans. 

Shane Bieber’s rough start against the Yankees should give Guardians fans mixed emotions 

After missing all of the start of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Bieber made his season debut for the Blue Jays at the end of August and ended up posting a 3.57 ERA in 40 1/3 innings in the regular season. 

But they brought him over for moments like Tuesday, and he failed to meet that moment. While he didn’t take the loss, he wasn’t able to shut the Yankees down, which eventually set up Aaron Judge’s game-tying three run home run off Louis Varland in the fourth inning. 

But Bieber’s short day wasn’t without controversy. While it was clear that Bieber didn’t have his best stuff (he allowed six balls in play with an exit velocity of 100+ miles per hour), the Blue Jays are going to have to turn to a bullpen game today, so his quick hook means they’re going to be comprised today while the Yankees have all the momentum.  

Even though the Yankees still have a 2-1 lead in the series, there’s still a chance this could be the last we see of Bieber in a Blue Jays uniform since he’s an impending free agent. 

If the Yankees win Game 4 tonight, the Yankees will likely turn to Max Fried for a winner-take-all Game 5 while the Blue Jays would turn to Kevin Gausman. It’s hard to believe Bieber would be available out of the bullpen. 

Meanwhile, as mentioned above, the win extends the Yankees season for another day. While the Guardians obviously won’t be the team to end New York’s season, most Guardians fans won’t shed a tear for them when (or if) their season ends considering the fact the Yankees have ended Cleveland’s postseason run in 2022 and ‘24. 

Shane Bieber had a chance to silence an old postseason foe on Tuesday and failed. We’ll see if his team can hold off New York to give him another chance to pitch for the Blue Jays.