Shane Bieber made his long-awaited return to the mound worth the wait. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball in his Toronto Blue Jays debut, powering the AL East leaders to a 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.
Bieber (1-0), acquired from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline, made his first appearance since April 2, 2024, after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The right-hander showed little rust in his 87-pitch outing, allowing just two hits—including a solo homer by Javier Sanoja in the second inning—and retiring 12 straight batters at one point.
“It’s been a long road, but to finally be back out there competing again, especially in a new uniform, felt incredible,” Bieber said.
Daulton Varsho provided the offensive fireworks, homering, doubling, and driving in three runs. Ty France added two hits and two RBI as Toronto jumped on Marlins starter Ryan Gusto (7-6) early.
In the first inning, Varsho laced an RBI double before scoring on France’s two-run single to give the Blue Jays a quick 3-0 lead. Bo Bichette also doubled in the frame, his AL-leading 158th hit of the season.
Toronto extended its lead in the sixth when Alejandro Kirk kept the inning alive with a two-out single. Varsho followed with a 423-foot blast to right-center, a two-run shot that made it 5-1.
Miami cut the deficit to 5-2 on rookie Máximo Acosta’s solo homer off reliever Yariel Rodríguez in the eighth. But the Blue Jays bullpen held firm. Brendon Little recorded the final two outs of the inning, and Jeff Hoffman worked a perfect ninth for his 28th save.
Gusto, making his home debut for the Marlins after being acquired from Houston at the deadline, struggled through six innings. He surrendered five runs on seven hits, striking out five.
Kirk’s two-out single in the sixth set the stage for Varsho’s decisive homer. The series continues Saturday when Toronto sends right-hander José Berríos (9-5, 4.00 ERA) to the mound against Miami’s Janson Junk (6-2, 4.04).
