CLEVELAND, Ohio – It’s been 103 days since Indians’ ace Shane Bieber last faced a Major League batter.
When he walked off the mound on June 13th, he didn’t anticipate it would be more than three months until he stepped back on the rubber.
But shoulder injuries can be temperamental. And a right subscapularis strain kept the Indians’ starter on the shelf waiting.
“It was a moment that I’ve been working the last few months for and been looking forward to quite a bit,” Bieber said. Once you get that first out, you can kind of take that breath of fresh air and settle down. Let your shoulders (loosen up) a little bit and go ahead and focus on executing.”
It didn’t matter that moment came at the tail-end of a season in which the Indians had been eliminated from post-season play.
It didn’t matter that it ended in a 1-0 loss to the division champion Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field.
What mattered was that Friday night at Progressive Field, Shane Bieber was back on a Major League mound. And for three-innings he looked like the Bieber that caused batters fits on his way to becoming the club’s fifth Cy Young Award winner.
“It felt good. A lot of hard work, a lot of emotion. A lot of ups and downs coming to fruition,” Bieber said. “Ultimately, this was the goal.
Whether it’s for 12 starts, two starts, whatever it may be, to come back this year and come back healthy.”
If there were any rust in Bieber’s right shoulder, it didn’t show.
Bieber was perfect through three innings, throwing 34 pitches and striking out three along the way.
It didn’t take long to notch his first punch out either, sitting down Yoan Moncada, the game’s second batter, down on strikes.
“It was on a curve ball. (I threw) two in a row and they felt good, and they were executed,” Bieber said. “They had some bend to them. It felt natural. That’s kind of what I was trying to do tonight, just throw the ball.”
The 26-year-old spoke candidly about the emotions of the night.
Bieber’s stint on the Injured List was this first time he’s missed any game-action since he was in college at UC Santa Barbara.
While his accuracy was on-point, his velocity left a little something to be desired.
“I think it was a little down to be honest. I was throwing pellets in the bullpen, and I was a little juiced up,” Bieber said. “Everything was sharp in the bullpen, so that’s good feedback. I would’ve liked to show a little bit more out there and get behind things.”
Bieber was initially slated to be on a pitch count of about 50-55 pitches but was so efficient he only needed just over 30 to get through three innings.
That was all the Indians had planned for his first action in more than three months.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been good at that, willingly coming out of the game with not a ton of pitches,” Bieber said. “That’s something that was discussed as three innings, good or bad. Whatever it may be. Go out there, be myself and go execute and try to be good for three innings and see where that lands us.”
It was vintage Bieber. A good delivery, clean release and command with all of his pitches; all reassuring signs from an injury he initially tried to battle through.
“Some pitches were slipping out on me as I got a little bit excited. Some two strike sliders to (Tim Anderson) the first batter of the game. Those things will sharpen up with more repetition and more time under my belt.”
Despite being on the Injured List for this year's All-Star Game, Bieber was named an All-Star for the second consecutive year. He led all of Major League Baseball with 130 strikeouts and innings pitched (90.2 innings) at the time of his injury.
“I’ve been feeling really good lately. I think my progression at this point comes with executing at a little bit of a higher rate,” he said.
Bieber made a pair of rehab starts while he worked his way back. He allowed one run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings of work with AAA Columbus on September 14th, and gave up three runs, including two home runs in a start for AA Akron on September 19th.
“It just felt good to be out there and be doing what I love to do,” he said. “II think the priority for me today was, coming off of those rehab starts was to execute pitches, out them where I wanted to and just get guys out.”
Bieber’s goal throughout his entire rehab process has been to return at some point this season. As the season wound down, it would be understandable to question whether a return for Bieber would even be worthwhile in a season with no chance of the playoffs.
For Bieber, there was no question.
“I definitely enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to it in five or six days as well,” he said.
NOTES-- Anthony Gose made his second Major League appearance as a pitcher in the 7th inning for the Indians.
Gose spent five seasons in the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers. He’s been out of the league since has been out of the big leagues since 2016 and has morphed himself into a pitcher.
He threw 1 1/3 innings, with three strikeouts and, consistently hit the high-90s on the radar gun.
“He came in a leveraged game. You talk about 1-0. He threw the ball well. He looked a little calmer. You think about his first time pitching after being converted. I thought he threw the ball well his first time out, but I thought his command was much better today.