Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber reacted to the team’s hot streak that has them closing in on a Wild Card playoff spot.
Following their 3-1 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays are just 1 GB of the Detroit Tigers for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.
Given that Toronto’s season appeared to be over just a few weeks ago when the team was 6 GB of the final WC spot and behind six other teams in the chase for the AL’s final playoff spot, the Blue Jays’ remarkable turnaround in recent weeks has truly been incredible to see.
Shane Bieber Shares Reaction to Team’s Hot Streak
Speaking to reporters after pitching 6 IP and allowing just 1 ER against the vaunted Yankees’ offense in the first game of a three-game set against their AL East rivals, Bieber shared his ecstatic reaction to the way that the Blue Jays are performing right now.
“This feels great. We’re just excited to get to the ball yard every day. We have tried our best throughout the season to curate that mindset. Sometimes, that’s been easier said than done, but honestly, credit to this group for continuing to trudge forward. Now, we find ourselves playing some better baseball. We’re meeting that standard we want to hold ourselves to. It’s awesome,” Bieber said (via MLB.com).
Blue Jays Lucky to Have Kept Shane Bieber
It feels like it wasn’t that long ago that analysts expected the Blue Jays to dump Bieber off at the deadline to any team that was willing to give Toronto a prospect and take on the remainder of his salary for this season.
Instead, the Blue Jays held onto him, and it turned out to be a good decision for them, as Bieber has been looking much sharper as of late.
The former AL Cy Young Award winner has won two of his last three starts for Toronto and has shaved his season ERA down below 5, to 4.99. A free agent at the year’s end, Bieber’s own season turnaround has been nice to see.
Shane Bieber Reacts to Blue Jays’ Hot Streak