Of all the reasons for Shane Bieber to have an off night, command isn’t the first thing that usually comes to mind. Bad hair day, sure. Lack of movement on his off-speed pitches, I can see it. But command? Not my Biebs.
Coming into tonight, Bieber’s 4.8 percent walk rate was the 13th lowest among starters with at least 60 innings pitched. That’s ahead of a whole bunch of quality pitchers and just a stones throw from Corey Kluber’s glistening 3.4 percent walk rate. Not walking anybody is all he’s done through his career, from Low-A all the way to the majors.