Glew - BWDIK: Carter, Halladay, Hicks, Lopez, Naylor, Pivetta, Soroka, Tong, Wilkinson
Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez, who spent part of his youth, in Montreal is about to finish the 2026 season as the MLB leader in hits.
September 27, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
Some Canadian baseball news and notes:
Lopez to finish with most hits in MLB
At the start of the season, no one would’ve predicted that Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez would lead the major leagues in hits.
But heading into the Marlins’ last game of the season today, Lopez is all but guaranteed to do so.
He has 191 hits, which gives him six more than Philadelphia Phillies infielder Luis Arraez, who has been sidelined since Thursday with a sprained left ankle and is unlikely to play today.
San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. is third with 181 hits.
On top of his impressive hit total, Lopez owns a .305 batting average which ranks third in the National League and he is tied for third in the NL with nine triples. His 6.0 bWAR (Baseball Reference WAR) is also fifth among NL position players.
Lopez spent part of his youth in Montreal and has played for Canada in the last two World Baseball Classics.
Soroka to start for D-Backs with season on the line
The Arizona Diamondbacks head into their final regular season game today trailing the Phillies by one game for the third National League Wild Card spot. If they can beat the Padres and the Phillies lose to the Tampa Bay Rays, the D-Backs will claim the Wild Card spot. The two teams went 3-3 against each other this year, but the D-backs have a better intra-divisional record, which is the second tie-breaker.
With their season on the line, the Diamondbacks will hand the ball to right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.).
On Tuesday, in his most recent start, Soroka allowed just one run on two hits, while striking out nine, in seven innings to pick up the win against the Colorado Rockies. That win was Soroka’s ninth of the season, which equals Texas Rangers right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) for the most by a Canadian pitcher in the majors this season.
In total in 2026, Soroka owns a 9-5 record and a 3.31 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) and has fanned 110 batters in 111 1/3 innings.
This season represents the 29-year-old Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team grad’s seventh in the majors.
Pivetta provides Padres with late season spark
On Thursday, Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) hurled 4 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out seven batters against the Los Angeles Dodgers to help his club to a 4-2 win.
In the process, the Padres clinched a postseason berth (Wild Card) for the fifth time in their last seven seasons.
The 6-foot-5 Pivetta is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA, with 19 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings, in four starts since being activated from 60-day injured list on September 7. He had been sidelined with right elbow inflammation.
Pivetta will likely start Game 2 of the Padres’ Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs.
In total, in eight starts this season, the Victoria Eagles and Junior National Team alum is 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA. He has 42 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.
Naylor steals 30th base
Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) stole second base in the bottom of the eighth inning in the M’s 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels last night. That was the Canadian slugger’s 30th stolen base of the season. According to the Mariners, that makes Naylor the first, first baseman to have back-to-back 30-stolen base seasons since George Sisler did it for three straight campaigns with the St. Louis Browns from 1920 to 1922.
Overall, Naylor has batted .261 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs in 151 games for the Mariners this season, his eighth in the majors.
Anniversary of almost no-hitter by Halladay (I was there)
I’ve never witnessed a no-hitter in person, but the closest I came was 28 years ago today at SkyDome when I was seated down the right field line to watch Blue Jays right-hander Roy Halladay carry a no-hitter into the top of the ninth inning in his second big league start. He had two outs when Detroit Tigers pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson belted a solo home run and Halladay had to settle for a complete-game one-hitter in the Blue Jays’ 2-1 win.
Harris made MLB debut 69 years ago
Sixty-nine years ago today, right-hander Billy Harris (Duguayville, N.B.) made his big league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
With the legendary Roy Campanella as his battery mate, Harris allowed three runs on nine hits, while striking out three, in seven innings but suffered a tough-luck 3-2 loss to the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. The Canadian right-hander was relieved by Sandy Koufax in the eighth inning.
Harris also recorded his only major league hit that day when he singled to centre field off Phillies right-hander Jack Sanford in the fifth inning.
Tong ends season on a high note
Right-hander Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.) started and allowed just one run on three hits, while striking out nine, in five innings to lead the New York Mets to a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
It was a positive way to conclude the season for the 23-year-old right-hander.
After being recalled by the Mets on September 7, Tong posted a 3.92 ERA and fanned 26 batters in 20 2/3 innings in four starts.
He was called up after a strong August with the triple-A Syracuse Mets in which he recorded a 2.39 ERA in five starts and held opponents to a .170 batting average. In total, the Toronto Mets alum went 5-6 with a 4.54 ERA in 23 triple-A starts this season.
Tong also made three starts for the big league Mets earlier this season.
He made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2025, registering a 7.71 ERA in five starts.
Carter doubled in final MLB at bat 34 years ago
Thirty-four years ago today, Montreal Expos catcher Gary Carter doubled in his final MLB at bat.
It came in the seventh inning with two outs off Chicago Cubs right-hander Mike Morgan with Expos outfielder Larry Walker on first base after a walk.
Carter drove the ball deep to right field and it just eluded the reach of Cubs right fielder and ex-Carter teammate Andre Dawson.
Walker scored to account for the only run of the game in the Expos’ 1-0 win.
Carter received a prolonged standing ovation from the 41,802 fans at Olympic Stadium.
Hicks to be first Canadian to play for Rays in postseason
The Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the postseason for the 10th time, but this will be the first year they will have a Canadian on their October roster.
The Rays, who own a 98-63 record heading into today’s final game, acquired catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) from the Marlins on August 3, and Hicks has been a key part of their offence ever since. In 40 games with the Rays, he owns a .281/.376/.421 slash line and has four home runs and 20 RBIs. And he had already been enjoying a breakout campaign with the Marlins.
In total, the Toronto Mets alum has batted .282 with 18 home runs and 82 RBIs in 141 regular season games in 2026. He is also poised to finish the season as one of a select group of MLB hitters with more walks (56) than strikeouts (55).
Raines made history 43 years ago
On this date 43 years ago, Tim Raines went 3-for-4 and had four RBIs in the Expos’ 10-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
His four RBIs gave him 71 on the season, making him the first major league player since Ty Cobb with the Detroit Tigers in 1915 to record 70 stolen bases and 70 RBIs in the same season.
Wilkinson strong in final start for Giants
San Francisco Giants left-hander Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, B.C.) allowed one run on one hit in three innings to the Dodgers in his final start of the season on Saturday. He struck out two batters and threw 21 of his 37 pitches for strikes.
Wilkinson concluded the campaign by permitting just one run in 13 innings over his last four outings. This lowered his ERA to 3.58 in eight total MLB appearances (six starts).
Nicknamed Tugboat, the young lefty collected his first big league win on September 9 when he pitched two scoreless innings in relief in the Giants’ 7-6 win over the Cardinals.
Prior to being called up in August, the 23-year-old Canadian went 3-4 with a 5.15 ERA in 10 starts for the Giants’ triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
On May 9, the Cleveland Guardians traded Wilkinson, along with the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft, to the Giants for catcher Patrick Bailey.
34 years ago today, Morris became Jays’ first 20-game winner
It was 34 years ago today that Jack Morris registered his 20th win of the 1992 season for the Blue Jays to become the first 20-game winner in franchise history.
Morris allowed just three hits in six scoreless innings in the Blue Jays’ 12-2 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.