TORONTO — On an eventful Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Centre, the vibes went from hopeful to disappointed to ecstatic and back to frustrated again.
There was hope for the long-awaited season debut of Shane Bieber and disappointment when it didn’t go according to plan. Kazuma Okamoto then delighted the crowd of 38,633 with a go-ahead, two-run single off Nate Pearson. But it was another former Blue Jay who silenced the crowd in the 11th, as Joey Loperfido hit a three-run home run that gave Houston a 9-7 win.
Loperfido’s swing — a no doubter against Braydon Fisher — prevented the 39-40 Blue Jays from climbing over the .500 mark for the first time since early April. Instead, they’ll look to get back to .500 in Wednesday’s series finale.
“This’ll be frustrating until midnight,” said manager John Schneider. “Whenever you have a chance to win, and you have guys up that you want, yeah, it’s frustrating, but it’s not for a lack of effort … That’s a frustrating one where you feel like you had multiple chances and just didn’t get it done, but that’s baseball.”
Earlier in the game, Bieber’s season debut veered off-course. He had allowed one run through three before running into trouble with one out in the fourth.
First, Yainer Diaz homered to left field. Next, Cam Smith crushed one over the centre field wall. By the time Taylor Trammell hit one out to right, the Blue Jays were trailing 4-0 in Bieber’s first major-league appearance since Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.
“Not happy with it,” Bieber said. “I put the team behind the eight-ball from the get-go. The first few innings, I was shaking the rust off, and obviously, that fourth it unravelled a bit.”
Extensive rehab work went into this start for Bieber, who spent the first few months of the season sidelined with right elbow inflammation after helping the Blue Jays advance to last year’s World Series and picking up his $16 million player option last off-season.
Even before spring training officially started, the Blue Jays made it clear Bieber would ramp up more slowly than their other starters. Week by week, the Blue Jays tried to balance their need for pitching with what’s best for Bieber and the team long-term.
“It's just trying to make sure that we're thinking about our future, his future, and the ability to win as many games as possible,” said GM Ross Atkins. “And a big part of that is we're very hopeful to be winning in late October as well.”
Despite those good intentions this 2026 debut didn’t go according to plan with four earned runs in just 3.2 innings. All told Bieber threw 75 total pitches, sitting at 91.7 m.p.h. with his fastball while mixing in change-ups, cutters, sliders and curves. He generated six swinging strikes while topping out at 92.7 m.p.h.
Yet Houston’s hitters connected for nine hits against Bieber, including those three home runs. Credit Bieber for avoiding walks, but there was a lot of loud contact in this one without much bat missing.
“Some missed location with the heater, but just good to have him back,” Schneider said. “Encouraging signs with the change-up, and I think he’s going to find his footing as he goes.”
Now, it’s a matter of building on this debut and finding a pathway to better results in his next scheduled start, Sunday against the Rangers.
“Pitch execution could have been a lot better and maybe pitch selection on my part as well,” Bieber said. “There were points where it felt great, and there were points that I was falling behind and not executing the way I’m used to and the way I want to.
“It’s always a work in progress, no matter what, and that’s what it is right now.”
Without Okamoto, the Blue Jays wouldn’t have been in this game as long as they were. Not only did he make a pair of standout defensive plays, he gave the Blue Jays a 6-4 lead, driving in two runs with a line drive to left field in the bottom of the eighth. Later, with the game on the line in the 11th, Okamoto added an RBI single.
“He’s in a really good spot both defensively and offensively,” Schneider said. “Really, really, really impressed. This dude just continues to get better.”
Beyond Okamoto, it didn’t take long for second baseman Luis Urias to make an impression. Making his first appearance for the Blue Jays, the right-handed hitter singled on the first pitch he saw. Two innings later, he homered to left field to get the Blue Jays back into the game.
He still projects as a bench player for the Blue Jays, but this skillset could be useful against left-handers like MacKenzie Gore, who’s slated to pitch against the Blue Jays Thursday.
Along with Okamoto and Urias, Daulton Varsho homered to tie the game 4-4.
Meanwhile, it was another tough day for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. whose frustration at the plate was apparent on his way to a one for six day. Yet earlier in the afternoon, Atkins spoke optimistically about the first baseman’s recent swings.
“Very encouraged by the line drives to the middle and the other way recently,” Atkins said. “Any time that a player's trying to sync up the ability to have that (power) drive in his offensive game, it's the most difficult part of hitting, and we're encouraged by the recent signs there.”
The series wraps up Wednesday with Trey Yesavage pitching for the Blue Jays opposite Mike Burrows.
