Glew - BWDIK - Bratt, Hicks, Lopez, O'Neill, Naylor, Pivetta, Zimmerman
Toronto Mets and Junior National Team alum Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) earned his first MLB win on Wednesday when he allowed just one hit in seven scoreless innings in his start for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
August 9, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball news and notes:
Bratt picks up first MLB win
Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) dominated the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, allowing just one hit in seven scoreless innings, to pick up his first major league win.
The Toronto Mets and Junior National Team alum struck out nine batters and threw 55 of his 92 pitches for strikes.
It was his sixth start with the D-Backs this season and his longest outing.
Here are some more impressive starts from the start:
Hicks belts first MLB grand slam in first game with Rays
After being dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays by the Miami Marlins on Monday, Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) promptly belted his first major league grand slam in his first game with his new club the next day.
Batting cleanup for the Rays, Hicks socked the grand slam with two outs in the third inning off Colorado Rockies right-hander Gabriel Hughes. The Rays won the game 9-7 in 11 innings.
With the grand slam, Hicks has 66 RBIs this season, which is the most by any Canadian major leaguer.
Here are the top five Canadians in MLB RBIs this season:
66 – Liam Hicks
53 – Otto Lopez
50 – Owen Caissie
46 – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
42 – Josh Naylor
Lopez still leading MLB in hits
We are now more than 115 games into the MLB season and Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez is still leading MLB hitters with 145 hits.
He also ranks third in batting average (.317), trailing only Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez (.325) and Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez (.324).
The 27-year-old Lopez, who spent part of his youth in Montreal, is also tied for second in the majors with seven triples and ranks third in the National League among position players with a 5.3 bWAR (Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement).
Lopez has played for Canada at the last two World Baseball Classics.
Naylor goes deep twice for Mariners
Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) belted two solo home runs for the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.
It was the sixth two-homer game of his career.
Unfortunately for the Mariners, those two runs were the team’s only runs in their 3-2 loss to the Rays.
Naylor now has 10 home runs this season, which gives him five consecutive double-digit homer campaigns in the majors.
In total, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team grad has 114 MLB home runs which is the 11th most by a Canadian.
Gary Carter receiving the All-Star Game MVP trophy in 1981.
Carter named All-Star Game MVP 45 years ago
It was 45 years ago today that Montreal Expos catcher Gary Carter belted two home runs in the MLB All-Star Game to propel the National League to a 5-4 win over the American League.
Both of Carter’s homers were solo shots. He went deep in the fifth inning off Ken Forsch and in the seventh inning off Ron Davis.
For his efforts, Carter was named the game’s MVP.
Toronto Blue Jays ace Dave Stieb got the final five outs for the American League in his second All-Star Game appearance.
It was the first MLB game played after a 50-day players’ strike that year. It was contested in front of 72,086 fans at Cleveland Stadium.
O’Neill hits another pinch-hit home run
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) clubbed his third pinch-hit home run of the season on Tuesday. It was a solo shot off Los Angeles Angels left-hander Mitch Farris in the eighth inning of an O’s 3-2 win.
O’Neill also smacked a two-run home run in the fourth inning against Angels’ lefty Reid Detmers in the O’s 5-2 victory the next day.
The Langley Blaze and Junior National Team grad now has nine home runs this season.
In his last 15 games, O’Neill is 12-for-37 (.324) with three home runs.
Happy Birthday to Jeff Zimmerman!
Happy 54th Birthday to Jeff Zimmerman (Kelowna, B.C.)!
The Canuck right-hander honed his skills with the Junior National Team, but went undrafted. So, in 1993, he headed to France to play for a team called the Barracudas de Montpellier and worked on his slider. He eventually returned to Canada and signed with the independent Northern League’s Winnipeg Goldeyes in 1997 where he posted a 2.82 ERA in 18 appearances, including 16 starts.
The following January, the Texas Rangers purchased his contract from the Goldeyes and after he recorded a 1.28 ERA in 51 appearances at the High-A and double-A levels in 1998, he made the big league roster the following spring.
His first half of the 1999 campaign with the Rangers was one for the ages. In 35 appearances, he went 8-0 with a 0.86 ERA and allowed just 18 hits in 52 1/3 innings. It earned the 26-year-old rookie a spot on the American League All-Star team. He’d finish that season with a 2.36 ERA in 65 games.
He’d pitch for two more seasons with the Rangers, becoming the team’s closer and notching 28 saves in 2001. Unfortunately, the next year he was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery and then a second surgery. He initially retired in 2006 but then attempted a comeback with the Mariners in 2009, but he retired for good after one minor league appearance.
Pivetta suffers setback in rehab start
San Diego Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) abruptly left his rehab start with the low-A Lake Elsinore Storm after his 14th pitch on Tuesday when he experienced tightness in his throwing elbow.
He later managed to throw 30 pitches under the stadium, but the Padres have paused his rehabilitation program.
The veteran right-hander has been sidelined since April 14 with right elbow inflammation (later diagnosed as a flexor strain).
The Padres were hoping he’d be able to return for the stretch run, but that’s now in doubt.
The injury could also impact his contract with the Padres. In February 2025, he signed a four-year, $55-million contract that included opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons. However, the Padres also negotiated an injury protection clause that stipulates that if Pivetta were to miss 130 consecutive days on the injured list in the one of the first two seasons of the contract that a conditional $14-million team option would be triggered for the 2027 season. This team option would also void his opt-out clauses and the final two years of his contract. He was to be paid $14 million in 2027 and $18 million in 2028. Pivetta would have to return by August 22 to stay under 130 consecutive days on the injured list.
The 33-year-old Canadian, who was the Padres’ Opening Day starter, has made just four starts with the Padres this season after being the team’s ace in 2025.
The former Victoria Eagles and Junior National Team pitcher is in his 10th MLB season.
Anniversary of Guerrero’s 200th MLB home run
It was 24 years ago today that Vladimir Guerrero belted his 200th home run as an Expo. It was a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning off Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Mike DeJean in an Expos’ 11-4 win over the Brewers at Miller Park.
With that, Guerrero became just the fourth Expo to reach the 200-home run mark, joining Andre Dawson (225), Gary Carter (220) and Tim Wallach (204).
Happy Birthday Ryan Radmanovich!
Happy 55th Birthday to national team alum, former Olympian and ex-Mariners outfielder Ryan Radmanovch (Calgary, Alta.)!
Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 1993 MLB draft, the 6-foot-2 outfielder/first baseman toiled in the affiliated minor pro ranks for 10 seasons and made his big league debut for the Mariners in 1998, batting .217 with two home runs in 25 games.
He later played seven seasons in the independent ranks, primarily with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League. In all, including his tenure in the independent circuits, Radmanovich belted 271 home runs in 17 professional seasons. He also suited up for the national team on several occasions, including at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Macko assigned to Rangers’ triple-A affiliate
In a surprising deadline deal, the Blue Jays dealt left-hander Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.) to the Rangers for utility infielder Josh Smith and right-hander Josh Stephan.
Macko has since reported to the Rangers’ triple-A Round Rock Express. He pitched two innings in his debut with the Express on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Macko made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays on May 18 and then proceeded to post a 4.91 ERA in 22 relief appearances with them.
Macko grew up in Stony Plain, Alta. and honed his skills at the Vauxhall Academy before being selected in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Mariners. He pitched parts of three seasons in the Mariners’ organization prior to being traded to the Blue Jays, along with reliever Erik Swanson, for outfielder Teoscar Hernandez on November 16, 2022.
Macko also toed the rubber in three games for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in March.