Bieber gamble has chance to really pay off for Blue Jays in Game 7

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On July 31, Shane Bieber became a Toronto Blue Jay.

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Even in their wildest dreams, team executives, coaching staffs and players, likely including Bieber himself, could never have imagined that he would end up on the cusp of one of the biggest games in franchise history.

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Yet that's exactly what will happen when Bieber takes the stage Monday night in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the visiting Seattle Mariners.

The Jays rolled the dice to get Bieber, sacrificing a treasured pitching prospect in Cal Stephen, knowing it would likely be either a move that didn't pan out or a masterstroke, with little time in between. At the time, there was no guarantee that the former Cleveland player would be of any help at all. He pitched just 12 innings in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and has yet to return. The team bolstered its bullpen but was unable—or unwilling—to make deals for a top-tier starter before targeting Bieber, an elite pitcher who costs far less to acquire than similar talents simply because of his health.

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Bieber managed to make seven regular-season starts, looking solid if overall unspectacular, and he started Game 3 against the New York Yankees and Mariners with mixed results (rough against New York and solid against Seattle).

Bieber's teammates seemed content Sunday night, after beating the Mariners in Game 6, to have the luxury of starting with Bieber in Game 7.

“He’s the best,” Ernie Clement told Postmedia after another big game. “He is well prepared for this situation and we know we will do our best.”

Kevin Gausman, the Toronto team's top manager, agreed.

“He's such a professional … you can see why he won the Cy Young,” Gausman said in the scrum at his locker.

“His ability to spin the ball and pitch the baseball is incredible, and he's back to where he was before (when he was the top starter), and so we're really excited to see him come out tomorrow,” Gausman said.

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Both pitchers know opportunities like this don't come around often. Bieber has only played three playoff games in his career, and he's looking to double that number. Gausman never went that far.

“It's crazy. It's going to be fun… If you like postseason baseball, that's what it's all about,” Gausman said. “You might see Max Scherzer in the fifth inning. You might see me later in the game. Like, it's just what it is, but it all goes hand in hand and it's fun as a player,” he said.

“That's what we want. We've all been practicing since Feb. 1, even before that. So now we've won one game and we're going to the World Series.”

And as Bieber said on the podium of his chance: “It means everything. I think it's the culmination of a lot of events and hard work to get to this point, and a lot of things had to come together.”

“It was really nice to be a part of this group,” Bieber said of the Jays. “Even though I joined here a little late, I definitely don’t take it for granted and this group of guys is definitely special.”

And if they manage to win just one more game, they will be remembered in these parts for many years to come.

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