On a stormy South Florida night, the Marlins ran into the biggest story in baseball.

Shane Bieber, the 2020 Cy Young and Triple Crown winner, returned to the mound for the first time in 507 days after Tommy John surgery. In his Toronto Blue Jays debut, the 30-year-old right-hander carved through Miami’s lineup with the same poise that once made him one of the game’s most dominant arms. Bieber tossed six innings of two-hit ball, striking out nine and allowing just one run to lead the Blue Jays (75–54) to a 5–2 win over the Marlins (60–68) Friday night at loanDepot park.

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“Coming back from TJ, it is one of the hardest things in baseball,” said Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, who underwent the same surgery last October. “But, I mean, if you trust, you believe it, you can do it.”

That trust was on full display. Bieber struck out the side in the fourth inning and leaned heavily on his slider in two-strike counts, pairing it with a cutter and changeup that drew awkward swings. His final line: six innings, two hits, one earned run, one walk and nine strikeouts on 84 pitches.

The only damage came in the second inning, when rookie infielder Javier Sanoja battled through a 10-pitch at-bat, fouling off five pitches before launching a solo homer to left-center. It was Miami’s lone breakthrough against Bieber until the late innings.

“At the end of the day, people have to know that you lost a lot of time, you know,” Alcantara said. “And coming back from TJ, it is one of the hardest things in baseball. You have to trust your mind. You have to trust coaches and keep working it.”

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Toronto, which leads Major League Baseball in batting average, gave Bieber breathing room early. A three-run first inning set the tone, with RBI hits from Daulton Varsho and Ty France. Varsho later added a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 5–1, his 14th of the season.

Miami’s bats, meanwhile, never found a rhythm. The Marlins managed just four hits all night, going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Xavier Edwards, usually one of Miami’s most consistent bats, finished 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Jakob Marsee and Sanoja provided the only extra-base hits outside of rookie Maximo Acosta’s late highlight — a solo shot in the eighth inning that cut the deficit to 5–2.

Acosta, just 21, has now homered in back-to-back games after going hitless in his first two big-league appearances. The blast traveled 399 feet at 102 mph off the bat, giving the crowd a moment to cheer before the Blue Jays’ bullpen shut the door.

On the other side, Ryan Gusto made his second start since being acquired from Houston in the Jesús Sánchez trade. The 26-year-old right-hander gave the Marlins six innings, but the early runs haunted him. Gusto allowed seven hits, five earned runs, and a walk, falling to 0–2 in a Miami uniform.

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The night wasn’t without celebration for the home side. Before first pitch, the club hosted Women Empowerment Night, honoring four women with Marlins-themed awards. A paid crowd of 14,923 filled the ballpark, safely under a closed roof as thunderstorms rolled across Miami.

Still, the spotlight belonged to Bieber.

Before the game, Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt — who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier in his career — framed the night with perspective.

“It feels like a debut all over again,” Bassitt said. “It’s an exciting moment, but you gotta relearn what works for you.”

He also reflected on the uncertainty that shadows every pitcher who takes that long road back.

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“Anytime you have a serious injury like that, you never know if it’s really the end,” Bassitt said. “So instead of being the end, it’s part of a chapter.”

Bieber’s chapter began with authority.

“That’s a great point by Chris because it’s spot-on,” Bieber said postgame. “It felt a little bit like that. I was seeing some similarities to a few years ago when I debuted and really just leaned on my family — my wife, my son… They’ve kept me grounded for the past 507 days and beyond.”

He also credited Bassitt and his teammates for smoothing his transition into a new clubhouse.

“Relying on Chris over the past few weeks, just helping me acclimate. Not just Chris, but really the whole team has been fantastic since the day that I came in,” Bieber said. “They made the baseball change easy. And I’m grateful to those guys for how they’ve gone about their work.”

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Even from the opposite dugout, Alcantara could relate.

“Coming back from TJ, you try to not get hurt. And you try to do everything perfectly, and still don’t get the result,” Alcantara said. “But, I mean, if you trust, you believe it, you can do it.”

Blue Jays manager John Schneider, whose team sits atop the AL East in the middle of a playoff push, kept his assessment light.

“I’ve got Bieber Fever,” Schneider said with a grin. “I’m a believer.”