Shane Bieber's Career-Best Performance Rescues Blue Jays' ALCS Hopes

The Toronto Blue Jays are finally on the ALCS board after an exceptional performance in Game 3 of the ALCS.

Oct 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) walks to the dugout after being relieved of his pitching duties in the third inning against the New York Yankees during game three of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays were in desperate need of a big win tonight and they got it. The American League Championship Series had been all Seattle Mariners through two games and Game 3 might not have been an elimination game, but Toronto needed to come up with a win.

The offense was lagging in the first two games, but that wasn't the case in Game 3, a 13-4 Blue Jays victory. While the big plays and countless homers will be highlighted all over the place, it wasn't the only major factor to this shift in momentum for the Jays.

No starting pitcher for Toronto had lasted through six innings in this series, until now. Arguably Kevin Gausman should have stayed on the mound longer in the opener. The Blue Jays found their first victory of the ALCS with the arm of right-hander Shane Bieber who was able to finish six innings in their win.

Shane Bieber's Winning Performance

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The start of this high stakes matchup did not go in favor of Bieber or Toronto. The Blue Jays went scoreless in the first inning and when the Mariners batted, Bieber walked the first hitter and then alowed Julio Rodríguez to hit a home run.

The game already looked daunting, but Bieber did exactly what the team needed him to do. He bounced back with a pair of strikeouts of his own and by the end of the night he walked off the mound with eight strikeouts, a career postseason high.

Not only did he get eight strikeouts, but those two earned runs along with the walk in the first were the only of the night while he was on the mound. He threw a scoreless five innings as the Jays went on to win the game and put themselves back in position to even the series on Thursday.

Shane Bieber Last 3 Starts vs Mariners:

1-0
19.0 IP
0.47 ERA
0.89 WHIP
21 K/0 BB#WANTITALL pic.twitter.com/u9v64QVo5K

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) October 15, 2025

In the ALDS, Bieber did not have the outing he wanted to in his first playoff start back since having Tommy John surgery last year. But it isn't how you start, but how you finish.

Toronto is officially on the board for the ALCS and are down 2-1 in this battle for the pennant. Game 4 will be played tonight in Seattle with Max Scherzer taking the mound for the Jays. If the ball club hopes to get back to Canada to redeem themselves from the start of this series they will have to win both games four and five.