Shane Bieber's return to the Toronto Blue Jays' rotation was one to forget.
The former Cy Young Award winner was roughed up by the Houston Astros in his season debut Tuesday, allowing home runs to Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith, and Taylor Trammell in consecutive at-bats in the fourth inning.
Trammell's blast was the exclamation point, with his 421-foot shot making him just the sixth left-handed hitter to homer into the 500 level of Rogers Centre since the stadium opened in 1989.
Astros go back-to-back-to-back off Shane Bieber in his first start of the season! pic.twitter.com/G6F0Tdy1yw
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 23, 2026
It marked the first time the Astros hit back-to-back-to-back jacks since July 2019, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.
Bieber didn't make it out of the fourth after giving up two more singles, which were stranded by reliever Tommy Nance. Bieber finished his day having surrendered four runs on nine hits while striking out three and walking two in 3 2/3 innings of work.
Tuesday marked the 31-year-old's 2026 debut after starting the season on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Bieber made five rehab starts before coming off the IL.
"Not happy with it," Bieber said of his outing, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith. "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 unraveled a bit."
Toronto acquired the two-time All-Star from Cleveland at last year's trade deadline while he was still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Bieber made seven regular-season starts for the Blue Jays late in 2025 and appeared in five postseason games to help the team reach the World Series.
The Blue Jays' offense eventually got Bieber off the hook on Tuesday, but Houston still walked away with a 9-7 win in 11 innings.
