September 8, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

–Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) belted two home runs for the Boston Red Sox to help them to a 7-5 win over the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park yesterday. It was his sixth multi-homer game of the season. According to Sportsnet Stats, this is the second-most multi-homer games by a Canadian in a major league season to Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) who had eight in 1997. O’Neill socked a two-run home run off White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet in the first inning and then added a solo shot off right-hander Enyel De Los Santos in the fifth. The Langley Blaze and Junior National Team grad now has 27 home runs on the season. His career-best is 34, which he hit with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021.

–Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) will not return to the Toronto Blue Jays before the end of the season, according to Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling. But the Blue Jays closer, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair an impingement in his right elbow on July 3, will “continue progressing to mound work heading into his off-season,” reports Zwelling. The Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum has been on the injured list since May 31 with elbow inflammation. It was a rocky 2024 season for the 31-year-old. In 15 appearances, he posted a 6.59 ERA and allowed 10 runs on 16 hits in 13 2/3 innings.

-Cleveland Guardians slugger Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) had his six-game hitting streak snapped on Friday when he went 0-for-4 in the Guardians’ 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. During that six-game hitting streak, Naylor had gone 12-for-25 (.480 batting average) and had four multi-hit games. On Monday, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum belted a two-run home run off Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic in the sixth inning, which gave him 100 RBIs on the season for the first time in his big league career.

-It’s rare nowadays that we get a glimpse into the human side of a major league player. They receive extensive media training and are understandably guarded when talking to reporters in a world where one bad quote can go viral. I guess this is why I was so moved by the interview an emotional Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) did after he pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the Guardians against the Royals in his major league debut on Wednesday. The 26-year-old Alberta-born lefty has persevered through two Tommy John surgeries to finally pitch in the majors. If you haven’t seen the interview, take 90 seconds to click on this link to watch it (or watch it below).

-Speaking of Canadian pitchers with the Guardians, rookie Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) continues to excel. As the closer – and an outstanding one at that – Emmanuel Clase is the Guardians’ reliever that draws the most praise, but it is Smith who is leading the Guardians’ bullpen in strikeouts. His 89 strikeouts are 19 more than any other Guardians reliever and 33 more than Clase, even though the Canadian right-hander has pitched just 1 2/3 more innings (67) than Clase (65 1/3 innings). In total in 66 big league appearances in 2024, Smith is 6-1 with a 2.15 ERA. The Abbotsford Cardinals and Junior National Team alum should be a strong American League Rookie of the Year candidate.

–Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) belted a three-run home run in the second inning for the Minnesota Twins in their 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. It was Julien’s first home run with the Twins since being recalled from triple-A in mid-August. It also propelled the Twins to a key win in their quest to secure a playoff spot. They currently sit in the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League with a 76-66 record, four-games ahead of the Red Sox. Overall, Julien has performed well since his mid-August call-up, hitting .289 with a .351 on-base percentage (OBP) with nine runs in 21 games.

-Fifty-one years ago today, Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) tossed a complete game for the Chicago Cubs in their 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium to earn his 20th win of the season. Jenkins allowed three runs on eight hits, while striking out seven. This marked Jenkins’ sixth consecutive 20-win season. No major league pitcher has had six consecutive 20-win seasons since.

-Last Sunday, the Los Angeles Angels called up infielder Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) for the second time this season. In two big league games in early August, he went 1-for-6 with a walk before being sent back down to the triple-A Salt Lake Bees. The 28-year-old ABC grad has since appeared in two more games with the Angels, including starting at third base and going 0-for-2 in the Angels’ 3-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on Thursday. In triple-A this season, Leblanc hit .254 with a .379 OBP with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs in 98 games.

-Three years ago today, after the ceremony had been delayed almost 14 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was finally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He became the second Canadian player to be inducted, joining Jenkins who was honoured in 1991. You can rewatch Walker’s induction speech here:

-Last Sunday, the Colorado Rockies placed Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) on the 15-day injured list with right triceps inflammation. The move was retroactive to August 29 and the Rockies expect him to return in mid-September. The Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team alum leads all Canadian big league pitchers in starts (26) and innings pitched (138) this season. He owns an 8-9 record with a 4.63 ERA. The 29-year-old right-hander, who is in his sixth major league campaign, is set to become a free agent following the season.

-On this date 34 years ago, Mike Gardiner (Sarnia, Ont.) made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners. He entered the game in relief and struck out Red Sox DH Randy Kutcher to close out the eighth inning at Fenway Park. The Mariners lost 10-2.