Cleveland’s Shane Bieber ties the record for most strikeouts through two gem starts against twins

Shane Bieber, the talented 25-year-old right-hander from Cleveland, made history Thursday night against the Minnesota Twins in their second start to the season. Bieber threw eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and no passing, and hitting 13 hitters along the way. That performance, combined with his 14 strikeouts on Opening Day, tied him with Karl Spooner (1954) for the most strikeouts in two starts in one season since 1901.

Here’s the rest of the top five in that category, according to the FOX Sports broadcast:

Karl Spooner	1954	27
Shane bieber	2020	27
Curt Schilling	2002	26
Vince Velasquez	2016	25
Nolan Ryan	1978	25

Bieber’s big departure also helped Cleveland staff overall make history. They became the first team to have their starters striking out more than 10 hitters four times in seven starts, according to MLB statistics.

Overall, Bieber has delivered 14 soft innings to start the season. He has splashed in seven hits and a walk, which means he has a 0.00 ERA and a 27 strikeout ratio on foot. It’s only two starts, and anyone can guess if the season will be played to the end to allow the prizes to be awarded. However, as it stands, it’s fair to write that Bieber is serving as a legitimate contender for the American League Cy Young Award.

Bieber’s success is primarily due to two factors: the fastball command and his curved ball. His control has been on point, as evidenced by his walk total, but the command is more than throwing punches – he’s essentially a mastery of the location of the field. That can mean standing on both sides of the plate, as he does, and it can also mean rising above the hands, or even above the zone.

By placing the fastball where he wants, Bieber can configure his breakup ball (and vice versa). On Thursday, he released 34 curved balls, according to Statcast. Of those 34, six were called strikes and another nine generated murmurs. In Bieber’s first start, his curved ball forced an empty swing in nearly 70 percent of the opposition’s attempt to hit him.

Assuming Bieber is on time, he will make his next outing on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds. At this rate, expect it to be good.