CLEVELAND -- More than ever, the Indians need Shane Bieber to be, well, Shane Bieber. And on Thursday, he showed that he’s getting back into his usual rhythm.

Bieber permitted just one hit (a solo homer) in seven frames with 12 strikeouts in Cleveland's 5-2 win over the Tigers on Thursday night. It marked just the second time this season he’d given up no more than one run in a start, and the first time he fanned more than 10 batters since April 30. And, arguably, the biggest difference was that he felt more comfortable with his 2020 go-to pitch: his curveball.

“Yeah, clearly, it felt better,” Bieber said. “It was coming out of my hand better, like I’m used to. I didn’t utilize it as much last outing, so I guess we tried to make up for it [on Thursday]. … I tried to use a north-south attack and work with [backstop Austin Hedges]. We were on the same page from Pitch 1 really and just fell in a rhythm. It was nice to get back out there and feel familiar with everything going on.”

Of Bieber's 26 curveballs that induced a swing, 13 resulted in a whiff. It marked the first time in four starts that Bieber logged at least a 50 percent whiff rate on his curve and his fourth in his 11 starts on the year -- something he did in eight of his 12 starts in 2020.

Opponents went 1-for-15 in at-bats ending on his slider and curve on Thursday, the two pitches that had been problematic previously in May, when he allowed a .309 average on those pitches combined. In April, that batting average against was just .205.

The contact Bieber allowed was more indicative of his peak performance -- from April and in 2020 as well. In that most recent start, Bieber allowed a .126 expected batting average and .213 expected slugging percentage, with those stats based on quality of contact, plus strikeouts. In other words -- he didn’t allow much solid contact on Thursday.

During the down stretch in May, Bieber had allowed a .314 xBA and .562 xSLG, after seeing those marks at .175 and .325, respectively,

This bounce-back couldn’t be more crucial for Cleveland. Zach Plesac is on the injured list (right thumb), and Nos. 4 and 5 starters Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen have already been sent to Triple-A Columbus, which leaves Bieber and Aaron Civale as the only two veteran presences in a rotation with two extremely inexperienced arms in Sam Hentges and Eli Morgan. That means the team will need to take advantage of every time Bieber toes the rubber. And Indians manager Terry Francona wasn’t surprised that Bieber’s turnaround started on Thursday.

“I think he felt like he was on this trajectory, from talking to him,” Francona said. “It was just nice. You never can guarantee that somebody's not going to give up runs because things can happen in a game. But to see him have the crispness to those pitches is really important.”

How’s this for crisp? Bieber induced a 51.1 percent whiff rate on all pitch types combined in that start -- the third-highest mark in any outing of his career. His only games with a higher whiff rate were May 19, 2019, against the Orioles and Aug. 9, 2020, at the White Sox, both with a 52.9 percent mark.