Bieber (4-0) struck out 11 and picked up the win in a 3-1 victory over the Tigers on Saturday. He gave up just three hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings.
While the Cleveland rotation is in turmoil right now, Bieber has remained a rock at the top of it. The right-hander has struck out 54 batters through his first five starts, the third most by any pitcher in the modern era, with only Nolan Ryan (59 K's in 1978) and Randy Johnson (55 in 1999) having fanned more batters in their first five starts of a season. Bieber will take a sterling 1.30 ERA, plus his league-leading strikeout total, into his next outing Thursday in Pittsburgh.