The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to turn things around after losing three games in a row, but Shane Bieber didn't do his team a favor on that end when he got rocked for home runs in the fourth inning of Saturday's 2-1 loss at the hands of the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
After pitching three scoreless innings, Bieber ran into trouble in the fourth inning, where he got taken deep twice and in back-to-back fashion by Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. Witt put the Royals on the board first in the contest, as he took a 2-0 cutter from Bieber deep for a 422-foot home run. Pasquantino immediately followed suit, as he launched a 397-foot blast off Bieber's changeup on a 1-1 count for a 2-0 Kansas City lead.
It was also just the first time in over six years that consecutive home runs had victimized Bieber.
“Shane Bieber allows back-to-back Home Runs for the first time since August 14, 2019 vs Boston,” shared Sportsnet Stats via a post on X, formerly Twitter.
In that game against the Boston Red Sox, Bieber, pitching for the then-Cleveland Indians, got taken deep by Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts in the third inning. Bieber ended up taking the pitching loss in a 5-1 defeat to Boston at Progressive Field.
As for his Saturday's outing versus the Royals, Bieber allowed two earned runs (both off Witt's and Pasquantino's home runs) on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk issued in 6 1/3 innings of work on the mound.
Traded to the Blue Jays by the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for minor leaguer Khal Stephen, the former American League Cy Young Award winner has struggled in the 2025 MLB season to keep the ball inside the park. The 30-year-old Bieber entered the Kansas City game having allowed a home run in each of his last two starts — and four total in his first five starts of the campaign. He made his season debut just last August after a long journey from a Tommy John surgery in April.
The Blue Jays, on a four-game slide, will now look to avoid getting swept by Kansas City this Sunday, with Trey Yesavage scheduled to start for Toronto.
