Glew - BWDIK: Caissie, Halladay, Lopez, Macko, Smith, Soroka, Tong
Fieldhouse Pirates and Junior National Team alum Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) is batting .293 with 11 RBIs in his last 15 games for the Miami Marlins.
May 31, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball news and notes:
Lopez still leads MLB in batting average, hits
We are close to 60 games into the 2026 season and Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) still leads the majors in batting average and hits.
His .330 batting average puts him ahead of Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh whose .323 average ranks second.
Lopez’s 75 hits are also five more than his Marlins teammate Xavier Edwards for the MLB lead.
The 27-year-old Lopez, who has played for Canada in the last two World Baseball Classics, had a four-hit game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Caissie improving with Marlins
Lopez’s Marlins teammate Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) has been hitting well over the past couple of weeks.
After a lengthy slump, the Fieldhouse Pirates and Junior National team grad is batting .293 with a .561 slugging percentage in his last 15 games. He also has three home runs and 11 RBIs in that span.
Caissie belted a two-run home run in the eighth inning in the Marlins’ 9-7, 10-inning loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field on Friday. It was his fifth home run of the season.
Four days earlier, Caissie had a double, a single and two RBIs in the Marlins’ 8-2 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Since May 13, he has boosted his batting average from .202 to .225.
Caissie is in his first season with the Marlins after being acquired from the Chicago Cubs as part of the package for right-hander Edward Cabrera on January 7.
Soroka notches seventh win
On Wednesday, Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) permitted just two runs in six innings, while striking out three, to record his seventh win of the season in the D-Backs’ 3-2 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park.
Soroka is tied for third in the National League in wins.
He also leads the D-Backs in wins and strikeouts (60) and is tied for the team lead with 11 starts.
Smith extends saves streak
Cleveland Guardians reliever Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) has a save in each of his last 15 appearances.
On Friday, he struck out the side against the Boston Red Sox to secure a 4-3 win and his 20th save of the season. That made him the first MLB pitcher to reach 20 saves this season.
This is Smith’s first full season as the Guardians’ closer. He took over as the team’s closer in late July last year and finished 2025 with 16 saves.
Roy Halladay registered his 100th MLB win 19 years ago today.
19th anniversary of Halladay’s 100th win
It was 19 years ago today that Roy Halladay recorded his 100th win as a Blue Jay when he pitched seven scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre.
He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter in the Blue Jays’ 2-0 victory. Right-hander Jeremy Accardo recorded the save. Left-hander Mark Buehrle threw a complete game for the White Sox but was saddled with the loss.
With this performance, Halladay became the fifth Blue Jays pitcher to record 100 wins, joining Dave Stieb, Jim Clancy, Jimmy Key and Pat Hentgen.
Expos fired Alou 25 years ago
Twenty-five years ago today, the Montreal Expos fired Felipe Alou after parts of 10 seasons as the club’s manager. He was replaced by Jeff Torborg.
A fan favourite, Alou departed the Expos with 691 victories, by far the most by any manager in franchise history (Buck Rodgers is second with 520 wins).
But Alou wasn’t out of work long. After serving as the Detroit Tigers bench coach in 2002, he was hired to be the Giants’ dugout boss in 2003. He remained in that role for four seasons.
Macko makes first MLB start, also thriving out of Jays’ pen
Blue Jays left-hander Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.) made his first MLB start on Friday. He held the Baltimore Orioles off the scoreboard for the first 1 2/3 innings as part of a bullpen day in the Blue Jays’ 6-5 win.
The Vauxhall Academy grad has yet to allow a run in his first seven big league appearances. He has five strikeouts and three holds in six innings.
With Brendon Little demoted to triple-A and Joe Mantiply undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, Macko has become a key left-hander out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen, alongside Mason Fluharty.
Macko was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 13 relief appearances with 18 strikeouts in 19 innings for triple-A Buffalo prior to his call-up.
He was acquired from the Seattle Mariners, along with reliever Erik Swanson, for outfielder Teoscar Hernandez on November 16, 2022.
Left-hander Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) threw the first seven innings of a combined Canadian national team no-hitter against Colombia five years ago today. Photo: Baseball Canada
Five-year anniversary of national team no-hitter
Five years ago today, Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.), Brendan McGuigan and Ben Onyshko (Winnipeg, Man.) combined to throw a no-hitter for the Canadian national team against Colombia in their tournament opening 7-0 win at the Americas Olympic Qualifier.
Albers started and fanned seven batters in the first seven innings. McGuigan and Onyshko followed with hitless frames. They struck out two batters each.
Offensively, Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.) had three hits and three RBIs for Canada.
Sabrowski placed on 15-day injured list
The Guardians placed left-hander Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) on the 15-day injured list on Monday (retroactive to May 22) with left elbow inflammation.
The Guardians are being extra cautious with Sabrowski who has a history of arm woes. Prior to joining the Guardians, Sabrowski underwent Tommy John surgery twice (2018 and 2021).
The Canuck lefty has been outstanding out of the Guardians’ bullpen this season. He leads the majors with 17 holds and owns a 1.71 ERA and has struck out 39 batters in 21 innings.
The Edmonton Prospects Academy grad has pitched in parts of three MLB seasons with the Guardians.
He was originally selected in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres.
McAdoo becomes sixth Blue Jay to homer in first game
Blue Jays infielder Charles McAdoo belted a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Orioles on Friday to become the sixth Blue Jays player to homer in their first MLB game.
The others are:
Al Woods – April, 7, 1977
Pinch-hitting for right fielder Steve Bowling in the fifth inning of the Blue Jays’ first-ever game, Woods promptly clubbed a two-run home run off White Sox righty Francisco Barrios in his first at bat.
Steve Staggs – July 1, 1977
Starting at second base and batting second in his MLB debut, Staggs walloped a solo home run off Texas Rangers right-hander Doyle Alexander in the sixth inning. It was his third at bat of the game.
J.P. Arencibia – August 7, 2010
In one of the greatest debuts in Blue Jays’ history, Arencibia hit not one, but two homers in his first MLB game. The young catcher connected for a two-run round-tripper off Tampa Bay Rays right-hander James Shields in the second inning and then for a solo shot off Rays reliever Dale Thayer in the sixth. For good measure, he also had a double and a single in the contest.
Devon Travis – April 6, 2015
Batting ninth and playing second base, Travis hit a solo home run off New York Yankees reliever Chasen Shreve in the seventh inning. It was his third plate appearance.
Davis Schneider – August 4, 2023
Starting at second base and hitting seventh, Schneider belted a solo home run off Boston Red Sox lefty James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) in his first MLB at bat. He later singled in the top of the seventh for his second hit of the contest.
*Note: I wanted to add Junior Felix to this list. But though he did homer in his first MLB at bat on May 4, 1989, it came in his second MLB game. He had entered the game the previous day as a late-inning defensive replacement.
Sixteen years ago, Stern played final MLB game
On this date 16 years ago, outfielder Adam Stern (London, Ont.) played his final major league game for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Stern pinch-hit for Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan in the ninth inning and hit a grounder to Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez who flipped the ball to second base to force Brewers catcher George Kottaras (Scarborough, Ont.) out. Stern reached first on a fielder’s choice and then moved up to second on a single by Rickie Weeks. But he was stranded at second when Carlos Gomez flied out to left field and Prince Fielder grounded out to first base.
The Marlins won the game 13-5.
Young activated by Mets
Outfielder/first baseman Jared Young (Prince George, B.C.) was activated by the New York Mets on Tuesday.
He had been sidelined since April 13 due to a meniscus tear in his left knee.
On Saturday, Young belted a solo home run for the Mets in their 6-1 win over the Marlins. He has gone 3-for-8 in four games since his return. In total this season, he is 10-for-29 (.345 batting average) in 14 games.
Signed by the Mets in December 2024, Young socked four homers in 22 games with the big league club last season.
Chosen in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB draft by the Cubs, the Okanagan Athletics alum also played parts of two seasons with the Cubs in 2022 and 2023.
Toronto Mets alum Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.) has not allowed an earned run in 6 2/3 innings in two appearances out of the New York Mets’ bullpen this season.
Tong strong out of Mets’ pen
Right-hander Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.) has not allowed an earned run in 6 2/3 innings in two appearances as the long man out of the Mets’ bullpen since being recalled on May 22.
On Wednesday, in his second outing since his promotion, he allowed three hits and an unearned run in 3 2/3 innings in the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Prior to his promotion, the 22-year-old Tong had posted a 1-3 record and a 5.68 ERA in nine starts for the triple-A Syracuse Mets this season. He struck out 55 batters in 38 innings.
This is the 6-foot-1 right-hander’s second major league tenure with the Mets. He went 2-3 with a 7.71 ERA in five big league starts with them last season.
Ranked the Mets’ No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Tong dominated in the minors last season, combining to go 10-5 with a 1.43 ERA in 22 starts in double-A and triple-A. His 179 strikeouts were the most by any pitcher in the affiliated minor league ranks. He also topped all minor league hurlers in ERA and opponents’ batting average (.148).
Selected in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB draft by the Mets, Tong is in his fifth pro season.
May 31st Birthdays
1943 – Jackie Brown, former Expos pitcher (died in 2017)
1962 – Joe Orsulak, former Expos outfielder
1973 – Marty Janzen, former Blue Jays pitcher
1977 – Phil Devey (St. Jerome, Que.), former Los Angeles Dodgers pitching prospect
1981 – Ray Olmedo, former Blue Jays infielder