Blue Jays' Shane Bieber walks six in two-thirds of an inning - ESPN

WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals drew six walks against former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber in a four-run first inning Tuesday night, eventually escaping with an 8-6 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bieber, 31, issued walks to six of the nine batters he faced, including three with the bases loaded, before departing after two-thirds of an inning. In his previous 149 pitching appearances, the right-hander's high for walks was five.

According to ESPN Research, Bieber is only the fourth pitcher in the divisional era — since 1969 — to issue six walks in the first inning of a game, joining Todd Van Poppel in 1994, Ryan Dempster in 2001 and Daniel Cabrera in 2006.

After the loss, Toronto manager John Schneider mentioned that the hot weather in Washington affected Bieber, something his starter concurred with. Schneider mentioned that Bieber was «sweating a lot, which led to issues with his grip on the baseball.»

«You have to find a way to get through it, right, and I wasn't able to do that tonight,» said Bieber, who didn't walk anyone in his previous start Thursday, when he allowed one run in seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. «Ultimately, I follow up what was maybe my best start as a Blue Jay with what was definitely my worst.»

Washington's James Wood led off the first with a walk, and Luis Garcia Jr. followed with a grounder to second. Dylan Crews then earned a free pass, and CJ Abrams followed with a well-placed infield single.

«I have no excuses,» Bieber said. «I have to find a way to get out of that first inning. Dry my hands off and change shirts and eat up innings after that. That's what I was trying to do and unfortunately, I wasn't able to. I don't think I've ever had anything like that happen.»

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