Blue Jays bats save Bieber, bullpen in win over Reds

CINCINNATI — Single after single derailed Shane Bieber’s second inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays were in trouble right away.

The Cincinnati Reds weren’t necessarily making great contact against the Blue Jays right-hander, but one ground ball after another skidded through the middle of the diamond Wednesday and before long the Reds took a 5-0 lead. Far from ideal, as the Blue Jays likely needed length from Bieber for a chance at a series win.

But for the second consecutive night, the Toronto offence more than made up for any issues on the pitching staff. Five different Blue Jays had homered by the fifth inning, setting in motion an entertaining if stressful 13-9 win that gives the Blue Jays another series victory, their 42nd comeback win of the season and a little momentum ahead of their upcoming series against the Yankees.

“That was a really well-rounded team win,” said manager John Schneider. “We’ll enjoy the flight over to New York.”

With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 81-59 on the season, widening their AL East lead to 3.5 games over the Yankees and Red Sox, who both lost. In fact, the Blue Jays have the best record in the American League and more wins than any MLB team except the Brewers.

Their latest win wouldn’t have been possible without a home run barrage at Great American Ballpark. George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each went deep Wednesday, with Varsho homering for the third straight game. 

“I’m trying to hit a ground ball right back to the pitcher,” said Varsho, who now has 18 home runs in 51 games this year. “I have a better approach, a good idea of how guys are attacking me and I’m making the adjustment on mistakes they’re throwing.”

It wasn’t just home runs either, as the Blue Jays combined for 18 hits, including three from No. 7 hitter Ty France, two from No. 8 hitter Andres Gimenez and two from No. 9 hitter Ernie Clement. This was a complete team effort, the second double-digit outburst in as many days, and it came against a Reds team that ranked third in MLB in pitching WAR entering play Wednesday.

As an offence, it’s possible the Blue Jays aren’t given the credit they’re due. Entering play Wednesday, they ranked second among all teams in wRC+, trailing only the Yankees. Only three teams have scored more runs this season. No team has a higher batting average or on-base percentage.

“On any given night anyone can come through and be the player of the game,” Varsho said. “It’s getting baserunners on and creating havoc.”

Afterwards, Schneider highlighted what Springer’s done all season.

“He deserves MVP consideration,” the manager said. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but this dude’s hitting over .300 with 27 (homers) and (72 RBI) and a nine-whatever OPS (.956). The guy’s playing his ass off. When your oldest player is playing the game the way he’s playing and running the bases the way he’s playing, everyone follows suit.”

As for Bieber, he recovered after the five-run second to keep the Reds scoreless for the next four innings. In total, he allowed five earned runs on five hits while walking two and striking out six over six innings — a respectable performance, especially considering the way it started.

“It’s probably the best five-run outing I’ve seen in a while,” Schneider said. “We needed it … his stuff was really good. That’s what good pitchers do. They focus and keep grinding.”

“Happy to hang in there and be able to bounce back,” Bieber added. “Credit to the offence for picking me up in a big way.”

Along the way, Bieber threw 98 pitches, a 2025 high.

“Obviously, I’d prefer to have it a little bit to go a little bit smoother, especially early on,” he said. “But those outings will come as well.”

After a strong bounce-back from the bullpen Tuesday, there were a couple late-inning scares in the series finale. Ryan Borucki escaped trouble in the seventh but Louis Varland allowed three in the eighth and has now allowed 10 earned runs in his last 7.2 innings pitched dating back to Aug. 15.

From here, the Blue Jays head to New York where they’ll spend a day off before a high-stakes series begins against the Yankees Friday. 

Veteran right-handers Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt will start for the Blue Jays while Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil and Max Fried line up as the starters for New York.

Biggest series of the season? Definitely — it should be compelling from start to finish. But the way this AL East race is unfolding, there may be a second ‘biggest series of the season’ later this month when the Red Sox visit Toronto, another one on the final weekend of the season against the Rays and more still in the playoffs.

So while the spotlight will be bright in New York, the Blue Jays want that to be the norm for the next couple of months — and the more comfortable they get in it the better off they’ll be.

“I don’t want them to put extra pressure on themselves,” Schneider said. “I mean, we’re in the driver’s seat. We’re playing good baseball. It’s September 3rd, but we’re playing good baseball.”