Shane Bieber’s fifth rehab outing was a little on the rocky side.
The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander crossed the pre-established 75-pitch threshold on Wednesday of his third start for the Buffalo Bisons — throwing a total of 80 — but allowed five earned runs and 11 base runners over five-plus innings in the process.
The 2020 Cy Young award winner’s fastball sat 91.8 m.p.h., topped out at 93 m.p.h. and he got six strikeouts on 33 swings from the Charlotte Knights.
Bieber got off to a shaky start, walking the first batter he faced, then allowing a hard-hit drive to deep centre that Jonatan Clase caught near the wall.
He started the top of the second inning with another walk and failed to contain the damage. Consecutive Knights’ singles scored the first run of the ballgame before Andy Weber pulled a first-pitch cutter for a home run just inside the right-field foul pole to make the score 4-0 Charlotte.
The Knights put together a two-out rally in the fourth inning, loading the bases, but Bieber got out of the jam by striking out leadoff hitter Rikuu Nishida on a foul tip.
Bieber induced three double plays in the outing, helping him strand multiple base runners.
He was taken out of the game after allowing a leadoff home run to Ryan Galanie to start the sixth inning.
Bieber is yet to make an appearance for the Blue Jays this season after he entered the year dealing with forearm fatigue and was placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. He was acquired by Toronto at last season’s trade deadline as he completed his recovered from Tommy John surgery. Bieber made seven regular-season starts for the Blue Jays, striking out 37 and posting a 3.57 ERA over 40.1 innings.
The 31-year-old is now expected to meet up with the Blue Jays during their six-game road trip to throw his side session, according to Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling. Next steps will be decided after that.