Toronto Mets alum and Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) became the first Canadian major leaguer to hit a home run during the 2026 regular season on Saturday.

March 29, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

Peters collects first MLB hit

Congratulations to Chicago White Sox centre fielder Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) who recorded his first regular season MLB hit on Saturday. It was a double in the top of the fourth inning off Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Chad Patrick.

Peters finished 1-for-2 in the contest that the Brewers won 6-1.

It was the Okotoks Dawgs alum’s first start of the regular season.

Sold to the White Sox by the Tampa Bay Rays on December 18, 2025, Peters excelled with his new club in Cactus League action this spring.

He made his big league debut with the Rays last season and went 0-for-12 in four games with them.

Selected in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, Peters is in his sixth pro season.

Hicks becomes first Canadian MLBer to homer in 2026 regular season

Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) belted a two-run home run in the fifth inning off Colorado Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen on Saturday to become the first Canadian major leaguer to hit a regular season home run in 2026.

Hicks, a Toronto Mets alum, added another RBI on a sacrifice fly to lead the Marlins to a 4-3 win.

Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) also had three hits – including his second double of the season – and an RBI for the Marlins.

Romano, Smith pick up Opening Day saves

Right-hander Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) became the first Canadian to register a major league save this season when pitched a scoreless ninth for the Los Angeles Angels in their 3-0 win over the Houston Astros on Opening Day on Thursday.

Later that night, Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) tossed a scoreless ninth to notch a save in the Cleveland Guardians’ 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

In that same contest, Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) registered a hold for the Guardians. The Canuck lefty entered the game with two outs in the seventh and retired all four Mariners batters he faced. He struck out three of those batters.

O’Neill’s Opening Day homer streak ends at six

Baltimore Orioles slugger Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) went 1-for-2 with a single, a run and a walk in the O’s 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day, but he failed to homer. That ended his MLB record streak of homering on six consecutive Opening Days.

Pivetta becomes first Canadian pitcher to start on Opening Day for Padres

Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) became the first Canadian pitcher to make an Opening Day start for the San Diego Padres when he did so against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

It was also the first Opening Day start of his big league career.

Unfortunately, the start didn’t go well. Pivetta surrendered six runs on seven hits in three innings and was saddled with the loss in the Tigers’ 8-2 victory at Petco Park.

The 33-year-old right-hander earned the Opening Day start after his excellent 2025 campaign with the Padres in which he topped all Canadian big league pitchers in wins (13), starts (31), innings pitched (181 2/3), strikeouts (190) and WAR (5.3).

In case you were wondering how many Canadian major league pitchers have started on Opening Day, here’s a list (dating back to 1893), courtesy of the Padres and the Elias Sports Bureau:

Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.), Atlanta Braves, 2020

Erik Bedard (Navan, Ont.), 2007 (with Baltimore Orioles), 2008 (with Mariners), 2012 (with Pittsburgh Pirates)

Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C.), 2001-02 (with Marlins), 2011-12 (with Chicago Cubs)

Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.), 1967-73, 1983 (with Chicago Cubs), 1975, 1979 (with Texas Rangers), 1976-77 (with Boston Red Sox)

Dick Fowler (Toronto, Ont.), Philadelphia A’s, 1949

Oscar Judd (Rebecca, Ont.), Philadelphia Phillies, 1946

Phil Marchildon (Penetanguishene, Ont.), Philadelphia A’s, 1942, 1947-48

Clarence Currie (Windsor, Ont.), St. Louis Cardinals, 1903

Win Kellum (Waterford, Ont.), Boston Americans, 1901

Zastryzny begins season on IL

Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) has started the season on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain he suffered while pitching for Canada at the World Baseball Classic.

Zastryzny made one appearance at the WBC for Canada, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in their 4-3 loss to Panama.

In total in 26 appearances with the Brewers last season, Zastryzny went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and struck out 20 in 22 innings.

The 34-year-old southpaw has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons with the Cubs, New York Mets, Angels, Pirates and Brewers. He earned a World Series ring with the Cubs in 2016.

Hazel Mae memoir to be released in fall

Harper Collins has announced that they will publish a memoir by Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae on November 10.

The memoir is called Before I Let You Go: My Life in Broadcasting, Baseball, and Beyond.

“From her early days in the Philippines to her arrival in Canada and her rise through the ranks of sports journalism, Mae offers a candid, behind the scenes look at her life,” reads the Harper Collins promotional blurb about the book. “With warmth and wit, she reflects on breaking into broadcasting, navigating the US sports media scene, returning home to cover the Toronto Blue Jays, and mastering the art of the post game interview—often while dodging celebratory Gatorade showers. Open, honest, and insightful, Mae’s memoir offers a fresh, intimate glimpse into the life of one of Canada’s most recognizable broadcasters.”

In May, Mae will be presented with the Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television as part of their 2026 Canadian Screen Awards. The following month, she will be honoured with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award for excellence in broadcasting.

You can pre-order her memoir here.

Blue Jays celebrate their history throughout Rogers Centre for 50th season

If you’re a Canadian baseball history buff like me, you’re in for a treat when you visit Rogers Centre this year.

On Opening Day at the Rogers Centre, fans discovered numerous new displays around the concourse that shine the spotlight on Blue Jays’ history. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame contributed to many of these.

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame director of operations Scott Crawford and Lindsay Earle, the Canadian ball hall’s care of collections and public engagement supervisor, stand beside one of the Toronto Blue Jays history displays they contributed to at Rogers Centre. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

The Blue Jays have also created giant posters that highlight the best players at each position over the course of their history. Here are some examples:

Happy 50th Birthday to Kevin Nicholson!

Happy 50th Birthday to national team alum, former Padres infielder and Vancouver native Kevin Nicholson!

Selected in the first round (27th overall) by the Padres in 1997, the switch-hitting shortstop suited up for 37 big league games with the club in 2000.

Nicholson also competed for the national team on several occasions, including at the 2004 Olympics, where he almost hit a game-tying three-run home run in the semi-finals against Cuba. Pinch-hitting for Simon Pond (North Vancouver, B.C.) in the top of the ninth, Nicholson belted a ball deep to left field that outfielder Frederich Cepeda tracked at the wall. If Canada had tied it up and beat Cuba, they would’ve faced Australia for gold. Instead, Canada ended up with a fourth-place finish at the event.

Nicholson is now a head coach and director of player development for the Abbotsford Cardinals.

Sad day to be an Expos fan

March 29 is a sad day to be a Montreal Expos fan.

It was 21 years ago today that Andres Galarraga, who played his first seven big league seasons with the Expos, retired.

On this date the following year, Gold Glove centre fielder and longtime Expo Marquis Grissom officially hung up his spikes.

And it was eight years ago today that Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer and the Expos first superstar Rusty Staub passed away at the age of 73.

Happy Birthday Jesse Hodges!

Former Junior National Team MVP Jesse Hodges (Victoria, B.C.) turns 32 today.

After honing his skills with the Junior National Team, Hodges was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs in 2012. The right-handed hitting third baseman would play parts of seven seasons in the Cubs’ organization rising as high as double-A. He finished his pro career with tenures with the independent Quebec Capitales in 2019 and 2021.

He has since turned to coaching. He is currently the director of hitting and player development for the Doghouse Baseball Academy in Scarborough, Ont.

Remembering Cy Young

Here’s more evidence of just how hard it is to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Cy Young, who was born on this date in 1867, didn’t get elected until his second year of eligibility.

Yes, the man who won a record 511 big league games and has MLB’s annual pitching awards named after him was a second ballot inductee.

He missed out in his first turn on the ballot in 1936 when Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson were elected. Young finished eighth in the voting that year. His name was only checked on 49.1% of the ballots.

He was elected the following year when he finished third in the voting (76.1%) behind Nap Lajoie (83.6%) and Tris Speaker (82.1%).

Great Cooperstown tradition

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a great tradition of having all of their employees wear their favourite team’s jersey on Opening Day.

That’s Canadian Claudette Scrafford (Hawkesbury, Ont.), a highly respected manuscript archivist at the Hall, sporting the Toronto Blue Jays jersey in the bottom left of the photo below.

Adam Hall back with Winnipeg Goldeyes

Former Baltimore Orioles prospect Adam Hall (London, Ont.) is back with the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

The versatile Canadian went 10-for-19 (.526 batting average) in six games with the Goldeyes to start 2024 before he was signed by Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers assigned him to the double-A Biloxi Shuckers where he had a .377 on-base percentage and 10 stolen bases in 53 games.

He split 2025 between the Shuckers and the triple-A Nashville Sounds and hit a combined .232 with 25 stolen bases in 75 games.

Earlier this month, he was on Canada’s World Baseball Classic roster.

The Great Lake Canadians and Junior National Team grad was selected in the second round of the 2017 MLB draft by the Orioles.

He played parts of six seasons in the O’s system, reaching as high as triple-A with the Norfolk Tides in 2022.

Remembering Juan Bell

Please take a moment to remember former Montreal Expos infielder Juan Bell who would’ve turned 58 today.

He passed away in 2016 after battling kidney disease.

The brother of Blue Jays legend and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee George Bell, the younger Bell played parts of seven big league seasons with the Orioles, Phillies, Brewers, Expos and Red Sox.

He batted .278 with two home runs in 38 games for the Expos in 1994.

Glew - BWDIK: Hicks, Mae, Nicholson, Peters, O'Neill, Pivetta