AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 15, 2025

Shane Bieber

T-Mobile Park

Toronto Blue Jays

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Toronto - 13, Seattle - 4

Q. What changed in the first inning after those first four hitters that allowed you to cruise from there?

SHANE BIEBER: I don't know. It was a bad mistake to Julio. I'm happy with the pitch selection, just was supposed to be down and away, ended up leaking all the way across the plate. He put a great swing on it. Obviously, he's a great hitter. So less than ideal start to the outing.

Even pitching my way through a double after that, I just felt like I had good stuff tonight. I felt like I -- honestly, I felt like -- and I mentioned it to you, that I had pretty good stuff in New York as well, and I was ready to go, and obviously, it was an unfortunate start, but I came into the dugout and told the guys like, Pick me up, like, I got good stuff tonight, and they definitely listened and picked me up in a huge way, was able to go back out there in that second inning and kind of reestablish what I wanted to do.

So I felt like even though we were down, we were able to grab some momentum and this game is so much momentum-based, and so we didn't really look back after that, so it was awesome.

Q. After they put up a bunch of runs for you in the third to go out there and throw that shutdown inning and then take it through six, people have been saying before today, this is why we got Shane Bieber. So how does it feel to execute so well given all that?

SHANE BIEBER: It feels good. Very happy with the team victory today. That's what they brought me here to do, and I remember this time last year having not thrown a ball for a while, just thinking I can't wait to pitch in big games. So I find myself here in the ALCS and was able to do that tonight. So happy with how things are playing out, but we're still down 2-1 and there's a lot left to do.

Q. Schneids thought the second inning striking out the side was a really important point in the ball game, maybe even more so than the subsequent innings. How did you feel that that second inning might have changed the game there?

SHANE BIEBER: Yeah, I would agree. It was big for me to go out there and attack the zone and get some swing-and-miss, and then I think the lineup responded. Like I said, when I came in after the first and said, Pick me up, and, you know, weren't able to do it right away, but going out there and showing that I was ready to go, the guys responded in a huge way, and we didn't look back after that.

So credit to them in the way that they picked me up and bounced back and, like I said, we didn't really look back after that, and that's what this team does so well. Look forward to doing that tomorrow too.

Q. You got a lot of whiff on the slider especially, but you got swings-and-misses on all five of your pitches. When you've got so much working for you, how does it slot in, which pitch kind of starts and sets you up for all the other ones to work as effectively as they did?

SHANE BIEBER: It depends. Each hitter's different and everybody has their strengths, but I have my strengths as well, so ultimately, I think the game dictates itself, the situation dictates itself. And, like I said, when the offense went out there and picked me up like they did and got us out to a four-run lead, five-run lead, six-run lead, and ultimately more after that, my focus was going deep into the ball game. I kept coming in there in between innings saying, Add on, let me go deep, and that's what a seven-game series is all about.

Q. Can you describe the feeling in the dugout after the Andrés home run?

SHANE BIEBER: Momentum, like I said. I feel like this game is so momentum-based, and so for Andrés to go out there and just pick me up like he did and even the score, it was huge for us. It was awesome for him to be able to go out there and do that for not only himself, but everybody in that dugout.

Q. The Mariners are a team that does strike out and swing-and-miss. You saw it over the first two games. How important or how much of the focus was going strike to ball once you were ahead or even even in the count knowing that they do chase and they are aggressive?

SHANE BIEBER: Yeah, they're a really good lineup. 1 through 9 can damage you at any point. I think I saw that in the first inning. So swing-and-miss is a big part of my game when I'm going right, and there was an opportunity to kind of attack that tonight and thankfully after that first inning was able to find it.

Q. You were talking about how this time last year you couldn't wait to get in big games. Given how long the Tommy John process is, and you couldn't have imagined the exacts of a start like this, but were these the moments -- did you kind of reflect on these moments or, like, look forward to these moments and use them as kind of a driver during the rehab?

SHANE BIEBER: Yeah, absolutely. I was able to be with the Cleveland team during their run last year, tried to be as useful as I could and talk to the guys and be as helpful as I could, but it's always hard as a competitor and athlete not being able to go out there and contribute on the field. So was very happy to be able to do that tonight. Just warming up before the game tonight recognizing that the last time I warmed up here I knew something was wrong with my elbow, and I felt entirely different tonight. It was kind of a nice little full-circle moment.