Shane Bieber moved his rehab assignment to triple-A Buffalo on Saturday as he continues to work back to the Toronto Blue Jays from off-season forearm fatigue.
Things didn’t exactly go smoothly for Bieber, however, as he stared down the Worcester Red Sox for 2.2 innings and 59 pitches.
The veteran right-hander allowed six hits and three earned runs in the game while striking out three and walking none. Bieber was tagged for two runs with two outs in the first inning when he surrendered back-to-back RBI doubles to Matt Thaiss and Vinny Capra.
Worcester once again got to Bieber with two outs in the second, as Tyler McDonough extended the Red Sox’s lead with a solo homer on a 1-0 fastball over the heart of the zone.
After escaping the frame from there, Bieber returned for the third inning and got two quick outs before allowing a Capra single that carried him to his pitch limit for the day.
Bieber averaged 92.0 m.p.h. on 18 fastballs during the start and mixed in 15 knuckle curves, 11 cutters, eight changeups and seven sliders.
It marked the third rehab start that Bieber has made while he builds back up to the majors. His last time out came with single-A Dunedin on Sunday, where he allowed six hits and five earned runs over 2.1 innings and 49 pitches. He previously worked two scoreless innings in the Florida Complex League on May 25.
The 30-year-old was acquired by Toronto at the trade deadline last season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. He ended up making seven regular-season starts for Toronto, throwing 40.1 innings while striking out 37 and posting a 3.57 ERA.
Bieber was the third rehabbing starter to appear for the Bisons in the last three days, following outings from Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer on Thursday and Friday.