NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees will continue their first road trip of the season with the first game of a three-game set at Cleveland (through Wed.)…are 2-1 on the road trip after winning two-of three at Baltimore this past weekend…return home on Thursday to begin a season-long 10-game homestand vs. Minnesota (Thurs.-Sun.), Los Angeles-AL (4/18-20) and Toronto (4/21-23).
Have won six of their first nine games for just the third time in the last 20 years since 2004 (8-1 in 2020 and 6-3 in 2010)…with a win today, would mark just the third time in that same span the Yankees have won at least seven of their first 10 games (8-2 in 2020 and 7-3 in 2010).
Have won each of their first three series for just the third time in the last 20 years (since 2004)…also won their first four series in 2020 and first five in 2010.
Have scored in the first inning in five of their nine games…have scored first in six of their nine games (are 5-1 in those games).
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees clinched a series win over the Orioles with a 5-3 victory at Baltimore on Sunday…LHP Nestor Cortes (5.1IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K) started and earned his second win of the season…CF Aaron Judge (3-for-4, 3R, 2HR, 2RBI) recorded his first multi-HR game of the year with solo home runs in the third and eighth inning…DH Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-4, 1RBI) hit an RBI single in the first inning… RF Franchy Cordero (2-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 2RBI) hit his second HR of the season with a two-run shot in the fifth inning…1B Anthony Rizzo (2-for-4, 1 double) picked up his first multi-hit game of the season and extended his season-opening on-base streak to eight games…RHP Albert Abreu (1.0IP, 1H, 1BB, 2K), RHP Ron Marinaccio (0.2IP, 1K) and RHP Clay Holmes (SV, 1.0IP, 1K) were scoreless in relief…RHP Jimmy Cordero allowed a run in the eighth inning (1.0IP, 1H, 1ER, 1HR, 2K).
ON A ROLL: OF Franchy Cordero hit his second HR of the year on Sunday at Baltimore with a two-run shot in the fifth inning…has homered in back-to-back games for the fourth time in his career (also 2G from 8/26-28/22, 4/27-28/18 and 6/12-13/17)…is hitting .357/.400/.857 (5-for-14) with 3R, 1 double, 2HR, 7RBI and 1BB in four games this season.
PITCH PERFECT: Yankees pitchers have allowed just 25R over their first nine games (2.78 R/G), their second-fewest runs allowed through their first nine games of a season in the last 59 years since 1965 (allowed 24R in 2022).
Have allowed 3R-or-fewer in six of their nine games this year…have held opponents to 2R-or-fewer in five of nine games and allowed one-or-zero runs in four of their games.
Lead the Majors with 101 strikeouts and an 11.36 K/9.0IP ratio (101K/80.0IP)…have recorded double-digit strikeouts in seven of their nine games this season.
Rank third in K/BB (4.04) and WHIP (1.13), fourth in ERA (2.81) and opponents’ OPS (.611), fifth in HR/9.0IP (0.68) and opponents’ BA (.219).
NASTY NESTOR: LHP Nestor Cortes earned his second win of the season on Sunday after allowing just 2ER over 5.1IP (4H, 2BB, 5K)…is 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA (10.1IP, 3ER) in two starts this year.
Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 40-of-44 starts since the beginning of 2021 and 2R-or-fewer in 34 of those starts…in 52 appearances (44 starts) since the beginning of 2021, has gone 16-7 with a 2.61 ERA (261.2IP, 76ER), 274K and a .203 (194-for-957) opponents’ BA…his 2.61 ERA in that span is the third-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (2.52) and Julio Urias (2.54).
GLEYBER DAY: Despite going hitless on Sunday, INF Gleyber Torres has still reached base in 19-of-37 plate appearances this season, batting .357/.514/.607 (10-for-28) with 6R, 1 double, 2HR, 6RBI, 9BB and 5SB.
Has reached base multiple times in seven of his nine games and has reached base at least three times in three games… has hit safely in seven of his nine games.
Is tied for second in the Majors in stolen bases (5, tied for second in AL), tied for fourth in walks (9, second in AL), tied for sixth in OBP (.514, tied for third in AL) and tied for eighth in plate appearance per strikeout ratio (12.33, fifth in AL)…ranks sixth in the AL in OPS (1.121).
Has 5SB in 9G this season…did not record his fifth stolen base in 2022 until his 74th game played on 7/7/22 at Boston.
Has walked nine times while striking out just three times in 37PA this season…did not record his ninth walk in 2022 until his 49th game of the year on 6/4/22 vs. Detroit.
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo has reached base safely in each of his first eight games this season, reaching base in 14-of-35 plate appearances (.400 OBP)… matches the third-longest season-opening on-base streak of his career (12G in 2020, 11G in 2012 and 8G in 2019).
ALL RISE: OF Aaron Judge recorded his first multi-HR game of the season and the 28th of his career on Sunday at Baltimore, hitting solo HRs in the third and eighth inning… his 28 career multi-HR games are the sixth-most by a Yankee in franchise history, trailing only Babe Ruth (68), Mickey Mantle (46), Lou Gehrig (43), Joe DiMaggio (35) and Alex Rodriguez (29).
His 28 career multi-HR games are the second-most in Major League history through 738 career games, trailing only Ralph Kiner (29).
His 224HR through 738 career games are the second-most by any Major League player through his first 738 career games, trailing only Ryan Howard (225HR).
With his 223rd and 224th career home runs on Sunday, surpassed Don Mattingly (222HR) for the 11th-most home runs in Yankees history…his 224 home runs also mark the third-most home runs by a Yankee who was drafted and signed by the club (Jorge Posada-275HR, Derek Jeter-260HR).
Owns a career-high 42-game on-base streak (since 8/29/22), batting .380/.519/.803 (54-for-142) with 40R, 9 doubles, 17HR, 29RBI, 42BB, 1HP and 4SB in that span…matches the longest on-base streak by a Yankee in the last 19 seasons since 2005 (also Luke Voit’s 42-game streak from 9/19/18-5/3/19 and Mark Teixeira’s 42-game streak from 6/6-7/26/10)…has reached base multiple times in 31 of those 42 games.
His 42-game on-base streak matches the third-longest onbase streak by a Yankee in the last 82 years (since 1942), trailing only Derek Jeter (57G from 1998-99) and Alex Rodriguez (53G in 2004)…Luke Voit (42G from 2018-19), Mark Teixeira (42G in 2010), Bernie Williams (42G in 2001), Paul O’Neill (42G in 1996) and Don Mattingly (42G from 1993-94) also recorded 42-game streaks…also matches the fourth-longest on-base
streak by a Yankee in the last 86 years since 1938 (in addition to the list above, Joe DiMaggio had a 74-game streak in 1941 and Bill Dickey had a 42-game streak from 1938-39).
His 42-game on-base streak is the third-longest by any Major League player since 2019, trailing only St. Louis’ Paul Goldschmidt’s 46-game streak from 4/22-6/10/22 and Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco’s 43-game streak from 7/25-9/29/21.
Has reached base safely in each of his first nine games this season, batting .364/.436/.758 (12-for-33) with 8R, 1 double, 4HR, 7RBI, 5BB and 2SB.
The Yankees have gone 147-49 in his career when he homers…since 2020, the Yankees are 75-20 in those games.
His 4HR this season are tied for the most in the AL and are tied for the third-most in the Majors…also ranks eighth in the Majors in SLG (.758, third in AL) and OPS (1.193, fourth in AL).
EN GARD!: The Yankees will face the Guardians for the first time since defeating them in the ALDS last season…went 5-1 vs. Cleveland during the regular season before going 3-2 in the ALDS…since 2021, are 9-4 vs. Cleveland in 13 regular season games…including the postseason, are 14-6 against Cleveland since 2020.
CENTRAL PERK: The Yankees went 25-8 (.758) vs. the AL Central in 2022…are 36-12 in their last 48 games vs. the division (since 6/23/21) and 49-18 in their last 67G (since 9/12/19).
Have won 19 of their last 22 series vs. the AL Central (since 9/10/19)…have won or split 22 of their last 25 series (going 20-3-2 since 6/13/19) and 25 of their last 29 series (going 23-4-2 in series since 4/18/19).
FOR STARTERS: Yankees starters have tossed at least 5.0IP and allowed 2R-or-fewer in six of their nine starts this season.
BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters have homered in each of their first nine games of a season for just the fourth time in franchise history (first 12G in 2020, first 10G in 1999 and first 9G in 2001).
Have hit 16HR in nine games this season, the fourth-most in the Majors, trailing only Tampa Bay (24HR in 9G), Los Angeles-NL (18HR in 10G) and San Francisco (17HR in 9G).
Marks just the sixth time in franchise history that the Yankees have hit at least 16HR through their first nine games of a season (also 20HR in 1932, 2019 and 2020; 19HR in 2003; 18HR in 2011).
Have scored at least 4R in eight-of-nine games this season…have scored at least 5R in six of their nine games.
Have had nine different players homer this season, tied for the third-most in the Majors (San Francisco-11, Tampa Bay11, Los Angeles-NL-9).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP DOMINGO GERMÁN(0-1, 7.71 ERA)
RHP Domingo Germán will make his second start of the season tonight at Cleveland…the 30-year-old will start on extended five days’ rest…made his season debut on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia and took the loss, allowing 4ER over 4.2IP (4H, 0BB, 8K, 2HR)…his 8K were his most in a game since recording 10K on 7/25/21 at Boston…in 2022, went 2-5 with a 3.61 ERA (72.1IP, 65H, 31R/29ER, 19BB, 58K, 11HR) in 15 games (14 starts) with the Yankees…allowed 3R-or-fewer in a career-high 12 consecutive starts from 7/27-9/30/22…missed the first 93 games of the season with right shoulder impingement syndrome…in five seasons with the Yankees, has gone 26-22 with a 4.41 ERA (418.1IP, 205ER) and 437K in 93 games (71 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/11/15…was originally acquired by the Yankees from the Miami Marlins along with RHP Nathan Eovaldi and INF Garrett Jones in exchange for RHP David Phelps and INF Martín Prado on 12/19/14.
LAST TIME OUT: Made his season debut on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia and took the loss, allowing 4ER over 4.2IP (4H, 0BB, 8K, 2HR)…marked his fourth career start with at least 8K and 0BB allowed (9K, 0BB on 4/18/19 vs. Kansas City; 9K, 0BB on 6/19/18 vs. Seattle; 9K, 0BB on 6/9/18 at New York-NL)…his 8K were his most in a game since recording 10K on 7/25/21 at Boston…allowed 1BB-or-fewer for the ninth time in his last 12 starts (since 8/6/22 at St. Louis)…allowed 4ER for a second straight start (4ER on 10/5/22 at Texas, his final regular season start in 2022)…marks the fourth time in his career he’s allowed 4ER-or-more in consecutive starts.
VS. CLEVELAND: Has made four career starts against Cleveland, going 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA (22.0IP, 12ER) and 27K…made his last start vs. the club on 4/22/21 at Progressive Field (W, 6.0IP, 7H, 3R/2ER, 1BB, 6K).
Has recorded 6K-or-more in each of his four career starts against Cleveland.
Made his first career Major League start vs. Cleveland on 5/6/18 and did not allow a hit or run in 6.0IP (2BB, 9K)…retired his first 11 Batters faced before walking José Ramírez with two outs in the fourth inning…overall, retired 18-of-20 batters and did not record a decision, exiting the game tied at 0-0…was the fourth Yankee ever to record at least 9K in his first career start, joining Hideki Irabu (9K in 6.2IP on 7/10/1997 vs. Detroit), Dan Tripple (10K in 9.0IP on 9/25/1915-G2 vs. Cleveland) and Russ Ford (9K in 9.0IP on 4/21/1910 at Philadelphia-AL).
ON THE ROAD: In 48 career games (37 starts) on the road, is 14-13 with a 4.84 ERA (219.1IP, 118ER) and 215K.
Will make his first road start of the season…in 2022, went 0-4 with a 3.46 ERA (39.0IP, 37H, 16R/15ER, 9BB, 30K, 6HR) in eight road appearances (seven starts).
Allowed 2R-or-fewer in a career high four consecutive road starts from 7/27-8/27/22…allowed 1R-or-fewer in three consecutive road starts from 8/6-8/27/22, tied for the longest such streak of his career (also recorded three such starts from 4/28-5/20/21).
In 16 career road starts against AL East opponents, is 7-4 with a 4.19 ERA (81.2IP, 75H, 42R/38ER, 24BB, 75K, 12HR). 2022: Went 2-5 with a 3.61 ERA (72.1IP, 65H, 31R/29ER, 19BB, 58K, 11HR) in 15 games (14 starts) with the Yankees…opponents hit .236 (65-for-275, 11HR); LH .230 (31-for-135, 5HR); RH .243 (34-for-140, 6HR).
Surrendered 3R-or-fewer in 12 of his 14 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in eight starts and 1R-orfewer in four starts.
Allowed 1BB-or-fewer in nine of his 14 starts in 2022.
Missed the first 93 games of the season with right shoulder impingement syndrome (4/8-7/21-G1).
Surrendered 3R-or-fewer in a career-high 12 straight starts from 7/27-9/30 (previous: nine straight starts from 4/22-6/6/21)…also allowed 2R-or-fewer in four straight starts from 7/27-8/12, tying the longest streak of his career (also four straight starts from 5/9-27/21).
Allowed 1R-or-fewer in back-to-back starts from 8/6-12…marked the fourth time in his career he has accomplished the feat (also from 5/15-20/21, 7/3-12/19 and 9/29/18-4/1/19).
Tossed at least 6.0 innings in four consecutive starts from 8/22-9/7-G1…matched the second-longest such stretch of his career, trailing only a five-start stretch from 4/7-5/5/19…also did so in four straight starts from 6/7-7/18/19 and 6/4-19/18.
Did not record a decision on 8/27 at Oakland despite tossing a career-high 7.2 scoreless innings (3H, 0BB, 5K, 0HR, 1HP)…did not allow a hit over his first 5.1IP and retired 16 of his first 17BF (1HP) before allowing an infield single to Nick Allen in the sixth inning.
Made his only relief appearance of the season on 9/16 at Milwaukee, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings (1H, 1BB, 2K)…marked his first relief outing since 10/1/21 vs. Tampa Bay…was his longest relief appearance since 7/11/21 at Houston (2.0IP).
Made just one postseason appearance — his first career postseason appearance — in ALCS Game 3 vs. Houston, tossing a scoreless inning of relief (2BB, 1K).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Is 26-22 with a 4.41 ERA (418.1IP, 205ER) and 437K in 93 career games (71 starts)… has made three career Opening Day rosters (2019, ‘21, ’23).
Won 18 games in 2019, nine times as many wins as he totaled in 28 games (14 starts) in his first two Major League seasons (2017-18).
Has a 3.31 ERA (49.0IP, 18ER) in 22 career relief appearances.
Was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/11/15…was originally acquired by the Yankees from the Miami Marlins along with RHP Nathan Eovaldi and INF Garrett Jones in exchange for RHP David Phelps and INF Martín Prado on 12/19/14.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDIANS WIN SEATTLE SEASON SERIES IN EXTRAS
The Guardians posted their first walk-off win of 2023 in Sunday afternoon’s series finale against Seattle, rallying for a 7-6 victory across 12 innings at Progressive Field…club is coming off a 5-2 road trip thru Seattle (3-1) and Oakland (2-1) to start the season… Cleveland (6-4) has won 6 of last 9 and holds sole possession of 2nd-place in the AL Central standings, one half-game behind Minnesota (6-3).
The wild back-and-forth finish saw the two clubs combine for 10 runs after the conclusion of the 8th inning, as Cleveland posted three separate two-run rallies to knot the score in the 9th and 11th frames ahead of the club’s game-winning sequence in the 12th that included JOSH NAYLOR’s RBI-groundout and JOSH BELL’s game-winning fielder’s choice to plate JOSÉ RAMÍREZ, who drove in the Guardians’ first tally with a 1st-inning sac fly after Cal Raliegh gave Seattle an early 2-0 lift with a two-run shot in the 1st…both offenses would be held scoreless across innings 2-8… WILL BRENNAN sent the game to extras with his two-out, two-run double in the 9th and followed ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ’s RBI-double in the 11th with his third RBI on a single.
ZACH PLESAC rebounded from the 1st-inning damage to turn in a 7.0-inning quality start (7.0IP, 5H, 2R-ER, 1BB, 6SO, 1HR, 91 pitches) opposite Mariners starter George Kirby (6.0IP, 5H, 1R-ER, 0BB, 4SO, 96 pitches)…the 3-hour, 48-minute contest featured 14 pitchers, 5 wild pitches and 6 intentional walks.
THE BRONX BRIEFING
From Monday to Wednesday, the Yankees come to Cleveland for a 3-game set…Cleveland will then head to New York for another trio of games in the Bronx from May 1-3 to cap the season series… the two clubs last squared off in the 2022 ALDS when New YorkAL won the series 3-2 to advance to the ALCS…New York-AL won game one only to have Cleveland take the following two games, featuring a walk-off 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run single from OSCAR GONZALEZ in the bottom of the 9th in game 3…the Yankees won Games 4 and 5 to advance.
The Guardians went 3-8 against the Bronx Bombers last season, going 2-3 at Progressive Field and 1-5 at Yankee Stadium… Cleveland’s last season series win against the New Yorkers came in 2019 when they went 4-3…the Guards have a 4-11 record in their last 15 regular season games against the Yankees…overall, Cleveland holds a 506-525 home record against New York-AL and an overall record of 909-1151-6 against the franchise since 1901.
EXTRAS EXTRAS READ ALL ABOUT IT!
After winning in 12 innings on Sunday, the Guards earned their MLB-leading fourth extra-inning win of the season…Cleveland is the second team in MLB history to go 4-0 in extra-innings in the first 10 games of a season, first accomplished by the 1979 Montreal Expos…the Guards are also the first MLB team with 4 extra-frame wins within the first 10 games of a season since the 1982 California Angels went 4-1…Cleveland has taken part in 4 of MLB’s 7 extra-inning games this season.
In 2022, the Guardians (13-6, .684) were 2nd in the AL in extra-inning win percentage, trailing the Mariners (11-5, .688)…Cleveland tallied the most extra-inning wins in MLB and ranked 4th in MLB in extra-inning win percentage last year.
JOSÉ BEING JOSÉ
With a single in Sunday’s game, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ extended his hit streak to a MLB-best 15 games among active players in 2023, dating back to last season…he is slashing .344/.423/.535 with 6 doubles, one triple, one home run and 12 RBI over his 15-game hit streak…he and HOU’s José Abreu are the only two MLB hitters to open the 2023 season with one-or-more-hits in each of their first 10 games…Ramírez leads MLB this season with 4 intentional walks.
Ramírez, who also opened the 2022 season on a 12-game hit-streak, became the second player in Cleveland history to begin multiple seasons with hit streaks of 10-or-more games…he joins Nap Lajoie, who opened the 1911 season on a 15-game hit streak and 1912 season on a 13-game streak.
Ramírez (293) is now 3 doubles away from tying Charlie Jamieson (296) for the 7th-most doubles in franchise history…his 192 career home runs rank T10th in club history with Al Rosen, needing one more to sit alone in 10th.
MYLES PER HOUR
MYLES STRAW recorded his MLB-leading 6th steal on Saturday night, making him 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts on the season… Straw is currently on pace for 97 stolen bases on the year…he stole a career-high 30 bases in 2021…Kenny Lofton set the franchise record for single-season stolen bases, swiping 75 bags in 1996.
For the 13th time in franchise history and first time since 1998, Cleveland has 15-or-more bases in the first 10 games of a season… the Guards rank T2nd in MLB with 15 stolen bases behind Arizona (17) and have only been caught stealing twice in 15 attempts (86.7%)…the Guards are tied with Baltimore for the AL lead.
BELIEVELAND BREAKTHROUGHS
After scoring four runs in the most recent series, ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ leads MLB with 12 runs scored…this is the second straight season in which a Guardians hitter has scored 12-or-moreruns in the first 10 games of a season as MYLES STRAW recorded 13 runs in 2022…the last time this happened in consecutive seasons in club history was Grady Sizemore in 2007 (12 runs) and Travis Hafner (15 runs) in 2006…Giménez now
With a two-out double in the 9th and a single in the 11th, WILL BRENNAN notched his first two career game-tying hits and first two hits in the 9th inning or later…he also became the first Cleveland hitter with two game-tying hits in the 9th-inning-or-later since at least 1973.
STEVEN KWAN maintains his MLB lead with 211 pitches faced this season, 10 pitches ahead of ATL’s Matt Olson and Austin Riley.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – 57 SHANE BIEBER RHP
BIEBER’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-0 0.00 2 2 12.0 9 3 3 1 10
Career 54-26 3.16 115 113 715.0 627 270 251 154 841
BIEBER AT HOME
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-0 0.00 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 20-15 3.70 51 50 304.1 298 135 125 71 355
THE ACE RETURNS
The 27-year old right-hander is set to make his third start of the season in his 2023 Progressive Field debut on Monday night against New York-AL…it’s his fourth career start against the Bronx Bombers and his first since a loss on April 4, 2021…he has two straight quality starts to begin the year, posting a 2.25 ERA (3ER/12.0IP) with 10 punchouts and one walk… is making this appearance on an extended 5 days’ rest after his last outing on Tuesday in Oakland; is 20-8 with a 2.51 ERA (73ER/261.1IP) across 39 starts on exactly 5 days rest.
LAST START
Bieber last got the nod in a 4-3 loss on April 4 at Oakland, the middle installment of a 3-game series vs. the A’s…he did not factor into the decision, allowing 3R/ER over 6.0 innings, striking out 7 and walking one…he retired the first six batters he faced before giving up 2 runs (earned) in the 3rd inning, highlighted by an RBI-double from Esteury Ruiz…another run scored via a wild pitch in the bottom of the 6th… Oakland would win the game on a walk-off single from Tony Kemp.
BIEBER VS. THE BRONX
This will be his fourth regular season start against the Yankees, all coming here at Progressive Field, owning a 1-1 record with a 5.74 ERA (10ER/15.2IP) with 19 strikeouts and 7 walks across his 3 previous starts…he has gone 7.0 innings in two of those starts, but only lasted 1.2 innings in his start against New York-AL on June 9, 2019, tied for his shortest start of his career (also 7/24/2018 vs. PIT)… in 23G/22GS against the AL East he has an 11-8 record with a 3.88 ERA (62ER/143.2IP), his highest ERA against any AL Division.
He has faced the Yankees twice in the Postseason during his career, going 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA (9ER/10.1IP) in those outings… faced New York-AL in 2022 ALDS Game 1, allowing 2R/ER in 5.2 innings with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks.
HIGH QUALITY
After beginning the season with 2 consecutive quality starts, Bieber has a made quality start in 13 of his last 15 starts, including an 11 start-streak from July 29-September 22, 2022…with his 23 quality starts in 2022 he finished T3rd in the American League and T5th in MLB…he has made 78 career quality starts.
AL QUALITY START RANKINGS, 2022
NAME TEAM QS
Framber Valdez HOU 26
Alek Manoah TOR 25
Shane Bieber CLE 23
Martín Pérez TEX 23
WINS WITHOUT WALKS
His 4.6% walk rate posted in 2022 was a career-low…the righty was 11-2 with a 2.15 ERA (36ER/151.0IP) since the start of 2022 when walking one-or-fewer batters, and 2-6 with a 4.16 ERA (31ER/67.0IP) when issuing base on balls to two-or-more hitters…through 10.0IP this season he has only issued one walk, a 2.2% walk rate.
THE PITCH, NOT THE MASCOT
Bieber’s slider has been working for him through his first two starts, holding hitters to a .190 average (4-for-21) with 7 of his 10 strikeouts coming by way of the pitch…in 2022, his most effective pitches were his slider and curveball, both of which held hitters to a .191 batting average…nearly 85% of sliders thrown (718/849) were to righthanded batters, and over 85% of curveballs thrown (439/514) were to left-handed batters.
LEADING THE LAND
Bieber led Cleveland’s starting rotation in ERA (2.88), innings pitched (200.0), and strikeouts (198) in his 31 starts during the 2022 season…he became the first Cleveland pitcher since Sam McDowell 1964-66, 1968-70) with multiple qualified seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA before age 28.
Among 2022 AL pitching leaders, Bieber ranked 1st in fewest-pitches-per-IP (14.4), 3rd in innings pitched (200.0), 5th in walk rate (4.6%), 6th in strikeouts (198), 6th in whiff rate (29.7%), 7th in ERA (2.88), 7th in WHIP (1.04), 9th in opposing batting average (.230) and 9th in strikeout rate (25.0%).
