A former Toronto Blue Jays player, Vernon Wells, has expressed his disagreement with manager John Schneider’s decision to pull pitcher Shane Bieber in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. This move came after just 2.2 innings and 54 pitches, ahead of a bullpen game scheduled for Wednesday.
In that match, the Blue Jays’ bullpen struggled, allowing six runs over five innings, which resulted in a disappointing 9-6 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Wells took to Twitter, noting, “We won’t be bringing Shane out on 53 pitches; Game 4 is a bullpen game.”
After winning the first two games in Toronto, the Blue Jays faced the decision to start Bieber in Game 3, planning to rely on their bullpen for Game 4, if needed.
Interestingly, the team left veterans Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt off the postseason roster, which meant they had to be creative with their pitching in Game 4.
Despite Toronto initially gaining a 6-1 lead, the Yankees chipped away at it, narrowing the score to 6-3 with a series of hits and a sacrifice fly. When Bieber walked Jazz Chisholm Jr. and had two runners on with two outs, Schneider made the call to bring in another pitcher, leading to a missed opportunity as Giancarlo Stanton almost hit a two-run home run.
Wells’ criticism of pulling Bieber is valid, especially considering if the bullpen had held a three-run lead, Schneider wouldn’t have had to emphasize concern for Game 4.
Reflecting on his decision, Schneider admitted, “It’s clearly a tough decision. I thought he was throwing the ball pretty well. His secondary pitches looked good for those two innings. Then he started to struggle with control, and that led to the pitch decision.” He underscored that he was focused on winning the game at hand while being aware of the implications for the bullpen in the following day’s game.
The struggles continued for the Toronto bullpen, particularly with Aaron Judge’s crucial three-run event during the Yankees’ comeback. The bullpen is now under pressure to perform better and avoid heading back to Toronto for a potential Game 5 on Friday.
Schneider concluded, “Again… today I’m trying to take a chance to win, but it didn’t work. Everyone will be available tomorrow. We don’t know exactly who will start yet.”
