DETROIT — During the Tribe's season opener against the Detroit Tigers, ace Shane Bieber joined an exclusive club, sharing a Major League Baseball record only held by three other pitchers in history.
In his Opening Day start, Bieber recorded 12 strikeouts in the first six innings on the mound, marking his second Opening Day start with 12 or more strikeouts. Bieber threw 14 strikeouts in his Opening Day start back in 2020, becoming the first pitcher to fan that many in a season opener since Randy Johnson in 1996.
With his second Opening Day start notching 12 or more strikeouts, Bieber joined Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Bob Gibson as the only pitchers in MLB history to have two Opening Day starts with 12 or more strikeouts.
Ryan, Johnson and Gibson are all first-ballot Hall-of-Famers, placing Bieber in some elite company.
As for the Tribe's record books, Bieber became just the second pitcher in Cleveland's history to record more than one Opening Day start with 10 or more strikeouts, joining Bob Feller, who also had two.
