September 9, 2021

By Neil Munro

Canadian Baseball Network

Larry Walker delivered an eloquent and touching speech in Cooperstown on Wednesday as he became the second Canadian to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Maple Ridge, B.C., native joined his fellow countryman Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.), who was honoured 30 years earlier.

Perhaps inspired by Walker’s honour, several Canadians had outstanding games in the majors on Wednesday. Here’s a rundown:

-Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) belted his 29th home run of the season in the Cincinnati Reds’ 4-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was a solo shot in the fourth inning.

-In that same contest, right-hander Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, B.C.) pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the Cubs. He held the Reds off the scoreboard in the eighth and ninth innings before the Cubs scored three in the 10th to earn the win.

-Right-hander Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) recorded his 16th save of the season for the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched a three-up, three-down bottom of the ninth in the Blue Jays’ crucial 6-3 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Jays are now just one-and-a-half games behind the Bombers for the final American League wild-card spot.

-In that same contest, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) smacked his 41st home run of the season. It was a solo shot in the top of the ninth inning off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman that raised his batting average to an American League-leading .320. He also leads the circuit in runs, hits, total bases, OBP and OPS. With Shohei Ohtani missing a few games after being hit in the hand by a pitch, you never know about the triple crown and the MVP.

-Tyler O’Neill, who shares a hometown with Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.), socked his 24th home run of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. It was a solo homer in the eighth inning. O’Neill was also hit by a pitch for the 12th time this year and has a chance to tie or break the Canadian single-season HBP record of 15 held by Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.).

-Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) had two hits and two RBIs for the Seattle Mariners in their crucial 8-5 win over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Mariners remain one game behind the Blue Jays in the chase for the final American League wild-card spot. Toro’s batting average in his 39 games with the M’s is now .315, which would rank second in the American League behind Guerrero if he had enough plate appearances.