BWDIK: Hill, Lopez, Pivetta, Quantrill, Sabrowski, Soroka, Thomson

Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) has managed the Philadelphia Phillies to the post-season for the third consecutive season. Photo: Philadelphia Phillies

September 29, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

–Rob Thomson (Corruna, Ont.) has managed the Philadelphia Phillies to the post-season in each of his first three seasons as a big-league skipper. This had me wondering if any other managers had done this. This was surprisingly difficult to research, so I reached out on Twitter and was helped by The Hardball Facts who shared that Ralph Houk did it with the New York Yankees from 1961 to 1963. Another Twitter follower, Thomas St. John, added that Dave Roberts also accomplished this with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2016 to 2018.

-Four Canadians – Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Erik Sabrowski (St. Albert, Alta.) – have played in the same game for the Cleveland Guardians twice this season (September 10 and September 25). I thought these might represent the first time that four Canadians have suited up for the same big league team in the same game, but that’s not the case. Baseball historian David Matchett and Scott Crawford, of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, pointed out that it has happened twice before. On April 29, 2015, Michael Saunders (Victoria, B.C.), Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.), Jeff Francis (North Delta, B.C.) and Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) all played for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 4-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Two days later, it happened again when Martin, Saunders and Pompey suited up for the Blue Jays and Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) pitched in relief in the Blue Jays’ 9-4 loss to Cleveland at Progressive Field.

-The aforementioned Erik Sabrowski is making a very strong case to be included on the Guardians’ post-season roster. He has not allowed a run in his first eight big league relief appearances. He has 19 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. The Guardians have clinched a bye until the Division Series, so they don’t have to finalize their playoff roster until later this week, but it will be hard for them not to include Sabrowski on the squad.

-Blue Jays fans are getting an opportunity to see just how good Otto Lopez can be with regular big league playing time this weekend in their season-ending series against the Miami Marlins. The 25-year-old infielder, who spent part of his youth in Montreal, has been the hottest Canadian major league hitter over the past month. In September, he has had nine multi-hit games – including one against the Blue Jays on Friday – and is batting .337 with three home runs, seven doubles and 13 RBIs in 24 games. Heading into the final game of the season today, Lopez is batting .268 with six home runs, 38 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 116 games. On February 13, Lopez, who has played for the Canadian national team, had his contract sold to the San Francisco Giants by the Blue Jays. He spent spring training with the Giants before he was designated for assignment and claimed on waivers by the Marlins. Born in Santo Domingo, D.R., Lopez was signed as an international free agent by the Blue Jays on July 4, 2016.

Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) has been activated off the IL by the White Sox. Photo: MLB.com

-It’s great to see Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) back on the mound with the Chicago White Sox after he was sidelined for over two months with a right shoulder strain. Since being activated on September 21, he has been dominant in three relief appearances. He has fanned 13 batters in 7 1/3 scoreless innings and has lowered his season ERA from 5.23 to 4.74. To say Soroka has had a challenging season is an understatement. His record is 0-10, but he has been excellent out of the bullpen for the Sox after beginning the season in the rotation. As a reliever, Soroka owns a 2.75 ERA in 16 relief appearances and has 60 strikeouts in 36 innings. A graduate of the Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team, Soroka has pitched in parts of five major league seasons.

-Though saddled with his 12th loss of the season, Boston Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) had a strong final start on Friday. He allowed just two runs on four hits, while striking out six, in 6 2/3 innings in the Red Sox 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Pivetta will finish the year with a 6-12 record and a 4.14 ERA in 27 games (26 starts). He struck out 172 batters in 145 innings. The 31-year-old Junior National Team grad will be a free agent following the season. He made $7.5 million in 2024. In parts of eight major league seasons with the Phillies and the Red Sox, Pivetta owns a 56-71 record and a 4.76 ERA in 223 games (178 starts). His 1,139 major league strikeouts are the fourth-most by a Canadian.

-Also headed to free agency is Colorado Rockies right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.). He, too, had his final start of the season on Friday when he surrendered six runs in 3 1/3 innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He completes the season with an 8-11 record and 4.98 ERA in 29 starts. The 29-year-old Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team alum was sidelined for two weeks at the start of September with right triceps inflammation. Overall, Quantrill topped Canadian big-league pitchers in starts (29) and innings pitched (148 1/3) in 2024.

-Twelve years ago today, Georgetown, Ont., native Shawn Hill earned the win for the Blue Jays when he tossed three scoreless innings in relief in their 3-2 win over the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre. With that win, Hill became the first – and only – Canadian pitcher to record a win for both Canadian major league clubs. He registered a win for the Montreal Expos on July 4, 2004 when he limited the Blue Jays to one run in five innings in a 6-4 victory.

-Today is the 20th anniversary of a day that most Canadian baseball fans would like to forget. On this date in 2004, the Montreal Expos played their final home game at Olympic Stadium. The Expos lost 9-1 to the Miami Marlins in front of crowd of 31,395 emotional fans. Tony Batista scored the final run for the Expos in the fourth inning when he doubled and then crossed the plate on a single by Juan Rivera. The team relocated to Washington the following season. Here’s a CBC story about it:

-Longtime Tampa Bay Rays analytics expert, Jonathan Erlichman (Toronto, Ont.), has accepted a position as vice-president, hockey research, development and strategy with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins made the announcement in a news release, which reads in part: “Erlichman joins the Penguins organization after spending the last 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays of the MLB, most recently serving as their Vice President, Process and Analytics where he worked across departments to accelerate projects of high impact and conduct research related to player wellness. He also held various other roles with the Rays including Process and Analytics Coach (2019-23), Director of Analytics (2016-19), and Baseball Research and Development Analyst (2013-16). In 2019, Erlichman had the distinction of being the first data analyst in MLB history to make the transition from the front office to the dugout as an Analytics Coach.”