Article: Blue Jays Week in Review: Bieber Debuts and Springer Shines

[Mike LeSage]

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/18 through Sun, 8/24
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Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 76-55)
Run Differential Last Week: +2 (Overall: +55)
Standings: First in AL East (5.0 games up on BOS), Second in AL (1.5 games back of DET, 4.0 up on HOU)

Last Week’s Results
Game 126: PIT 5 - TOR 2
Gausman: 5 IP, 5H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Jays: 6-for-32, 11 K, 3 E

Game 127: TOR 7 - PIT 3
Scherzer: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Springer: 2-for-4, HR (20), 2 R
Kirk: 3-for-5, HR (10), 3 RBI

Game 128: PIT 2 - TOR 1
Bassitt: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
Springer: 1-for-3, leadoff HR (21)
Bichette: 2-for-4
Rest of Team: 0-for-22

Game 129: TOR 5 - MIA 2
Bieber: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Varsho: 2-for-4, HR (14), 3 RBI

Game 130: TOR 7 - MIA 6 (12 Innings)
Berríos: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Springer: 3-for-6, HR (22)
Bichette: 4-for-6, 2 R

Game 131: MIA 5 - TOR 3
Gausman: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Varsho: 1-for-4, HR (15), 3 RBI
Bichette: 2-for-3

Highlights:
Shane Bieber: Tough to ask much more from a pitcher in his season (and team) debut. After looking sharp on his rehab assignment, there was still some doubt about how Bieber would handle major league batters for the first time since April of last year. Six innings of two-hit ball with nine strikeouts was better than expected. A tougher test is coming soon, with his next start projected to be against the Brewers, but if he looks as good as he did this week, the Jays might have another ace up their sleeves.

George Springer: With his home runs this week, Springer now has nine career seasons of at least 20 homers. His three dingers this week led the team, and his leadoff home run in the second loss to Pittsburgh was the only source of Blue Jays offense that day.

Bo Bichette: His 0.45 Win Probability Added led the team this week and was four times more than that of the next closest hitter (Springer’s 0.11 was second-highest). He also led the team in hits (11), singles (8), doubles (3), runs scored (6, a tie with Springer) and wRC+ (213). In a week when a lot of the bats went quiet, Bichette just kept doing what he does best.

Lowlights:
Kevin Gausman: It might be a touch unfair to have Gausman here. If he were a different pitcher, we might be celebrating his performance opposite Paul Skenes at the start of the week, and maybe we’d be a bit more forgiving of the two mistake pitches that led to all of his earned runs against Miami yesterday. Yet, with respect to Bieber and Max Scherzer, I still think of Gausman as the ace of this staff, and this week he didn’t live up to that title.

Random Stats of the Week:

• Springer’s leadoff home run against Pittsburgh was his 22nd as a Blue Jay, putting him into a tie with Devon White for the franchise lead.
• Bieber is the only pitcher in Blue Jays history to have 9-plus strikeouts and zero walks in his debut.

News, Notes and Not Playing:

• Braydon Fisher drew the short straw and was sent down to Triple A to make room for Bieber’s activation.
• Mason Fluharty also went down to Triple A, and Paxton Schultz took his place in the 'pen.

Day-to-Day: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• Vladdy left Monday's game with hamstring tightness, possibly related to a splits-inducing defensive play at first base earlier in the game. He entered last night’s game as a pinch hitter and is expected to return to full duties this week.

60-day IL: Bowden Francis, Alek Manoah

• Manoah sounds to be the closer of the two to returning, and while both pitchers still have the potential to pitch in 2025, I would be surprised to see either of them pitch an impactful inning at this point.

Trending Storylines:
Bieber’s introduction to the pitching rotation led to some expected roster shuffling. Eric Lauer spent a couple of days sitting in the bullpen. He got up and warmed up a little during Bieber’s start, but ultimately didn’t see any game action this week. John Schneider has announced the starters for the upcoming series against Minnesota and Milwaukee, and Lauer is back in the rotation, slated for Wednesday night against the Twins. The Jays will run a six-man rotation, at least for this week.

On the other side of the ball, one of the hallmarks of the 2025 Blue Jays has been the production they’ve gotten from the bottom of the order and the unexpected stars. This week, they were carried by the names you would expect (even with Guerrero Jr. missing time): Springer, Bichette, Varsho and Kirk provided the majority of the offense, while the rest of the team trended downwards. I don’t think there’s anyone specific to worry about, but a lot of players are on a watchlist for the upcoming series.

Looking Ahead:
The Minnesota Twins come to town for a three-game set to start the week. After their fire sale at the trade deadline, the Twins have gone 8-13, but the Jays will have to contend with Minnesota's best pitcher, Joe Ryan, on Monday night. Hopefully, Louis Varland or Ty France brought some intel with them that can give the Jays' bats an edge. Unfortunately, the Jays won’t be seeing Alan Roden on this visit. His season ended with a thumb injury that required surgery, and he’ll close out his year on the 60-day IL.

Then, after an off-day on Thursday, it’ll be the Milwaukee Brewers and their league-best record coming to town for a three-game series over the weekend. The Brewers will be coming off of a four-game series against the Diamondbacks, so hopefully the Jays can capitalize on the visitors' travel fatigue.

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