Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber struggled badly in his start against the Washington Nationals, issuing six walks to the nine batters he faced before exiting after just two-thirds of an inning. The former Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs on those walks, including a bases-loaded walk that scored the first run. Bieber threw only 42 pitches, with just 15 strikes, marking a rare control lapse for the 31-year-old right-hander.

In his previous 149 appearances, Bieber’s highest walk total had been five. According to ESPN Research, he became only the fourth pitcher since 1969 to record six walks in the first inning of a game, joining Todd Van Poppel (1994), Ryan Dempster (2001), and Daniel Cabrera (2006). Bieber is also the first Cy Young Award winner to post such an outing, though Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Christy Mathewson had similar performances earlier in history.

The inning saw Washington’s James Wood lead off with a walk, followed by successive free passes to Luis Garcia Jr., Dylan Crews, and Keibert Ruiz, which drove in runs. After a sacrifice fly and another walk loaded the bases, Bieber’s mound visit by pitching coach Pete Walker failed to settle him, and manager John Schneider removed him after Jacob Young’s at-bat forced in a fourth run. Reliever Brendon Little ended the inning with a ground out. The Associated Press contributed to this report.