Cleveland Indians fans witnessed true greatness Tuesday night.
Shane Bieber was squaring off against Lucas Giolito and the duel was on.
Giolito is a special player, but he was no match for Bieber.
The Chicago White Sox ace managed to go seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.
Bieber went nine scoreless with 11 strikeouts and only one walk.
He also finally got his first win of the season in what felt like a playoff game.
Shane Bieber has his 15th straight game with at least 8 strikeouts, passing Corey Kluber for the longest such streak in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/2n5DRhDJZW
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 14, 2021
Bieber Setting Record After Record
It is becoming hard to keep up with all the history Bieber is making.
The above tweet shows how he now owns a new franchise record for consecutive starts with at least eight strikeouts.
Now fans will wait to see how high this streak can go.
But the impressive marks just keep coming.
Here is another gem.
*More than* 10 strikeouts in each of 1st 3 appearances of season (since at least 1906):
2021 Shane Bieber
2018 Gerrit Cole
1973 Nolan Ryan— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 14, 2021
Bieber is putting his name alongside legends of the game and he is still only 25 years old.
Oh, and the season is still just getting underway.
For now he is just trying to beat his 2020 self en route to another American League Cy Young Award.
Shane Bieber has now struck out 35 hitters this season, tying himself for the 3rd-most strikeouts through 3 starts of a season. He's the only pitcher to strike out 35 hitters through 3 starts multiple times, and he's done it in consecutive years. pic.twitter.com/1QiUXBYApZ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 14, 2021
A simple Twitter search of his name following a star usually brings a whole list of accolades in return.
Bieber Takes Down Tougher Competition
The Indians had a so-so start against the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals.
That had the more pessimistic fans out there complaining that the team had not yet faced a true contender.
Well, the White Sox have World Series aspirations and Bieber made that lineup look foolish.
He allowed three total hits on the night and went nine innings with only 113 pitches.
Giolito threw 107 pitches in his seven innings of work.
Yermin Mercedes nearly got a huge hit late, but the ball was foul by inches and disaster was averted.
Silly Rule Helps Secure a Victory
Bieber left after nine innings and that meant extra baseball.
MLB is still using the dumb rule where a runner starts on second base beginning in the 10th inning.
While the rule is frustrating, it did end up helping the Indians win.
And most importantly it gave Bieber his first win on the year in what was truly a legendary performance.
Tuesday night felt like a playoff game.
Two aces were squaring off and even though the stadium was not full, having fans back does make the ultimate difference.
The AL Central was so top-heavy for so long it felt like wins in the division were an expectation for the Indians.
Now the playing field is more even and the Indians still have a superstar to help the cause.
Bieber is making history before our eyes and he is absolutely appointment viewing every time he takes the mound.
What will he do next?
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