It was both a night to remember and a night to forget for Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber.
Taking the ball against the Baltimore Orioles for the finale of their three-game series, Bieber had a chance to stop the bleeding after a 4-0 loss in the second game.
While he pitched well enough to do that, striking out 11 batters over seven innings, he was burned by the long-ball.
Couple that with the fact that Orioles starter Kyle Bradish kept the Guardians at bay all night and you’ve got a recipe for a bitter defeat.
Bieber allowed three home runs, each accounting for one of the three runs he allowed.
With 11 strikeouts tonight, @ShaneBieber19 has tied Justin Masterson for 19th most in franchise history.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/ZcIy9aijkL
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) September 2, 2022
Bieber’s Historic Night Not Enough
Sometimes, even a dominant outing may not be enough.
Looking at the bright side though, Bieber tied former Guardians ace Justin Masterson for 19th overall place in strikeouts in franchise history.
That’s better than getting torched by the opposition.
Yet his performance still fell short as the Guardians couldn’t muster anything off of Bradish, leaving Cleveland with a hard-luck loss.
Their lead in the AL Central has dropped down to just one game over the Minnesota Twins, who seem to be waking up a little bit after a tough stretch.
The loss also cost the Guardians a chance to win the series with the Orioles.
But despite being let down by the offense, Bieber still kept the Guardians in the game and made a little history in the process.
Bradish just happened to be a little bit better last night.
But Bieber has fully established himself as the ace of the Guardians, and he is the guy that they’ll be leaning on pitching-wise when October arrives.
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