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Around the Diamond: London is 2-1 in first three; Majors welcome Guelph — for first time since playoffs; Déjà vu in Brantford? Joseph picks up where he left off — in 2024; Pimentel ready for debut; and more!
It didn’t take long for Eduardo de Oleo to launch the London Majors into a new season, their first in the newly-pro, newly-branded Canadian Baseball League.
That is, with a runner on first and an 0-2 count in the bottom of the first inning, the Majors’ catcher belted a home run over Labatt Park’s left field fence off Barrie starter Saul Vasquez to bring the fans to their feet and ring in a new season of Majors baseball – which ended in victory for the home side.
de Oleo’s homer didn’t hold up in the season opener last Friday night, as the visiting Baycats tied things at 2-2 in the seventh. But when London responded in their half of the inning, de Oleo was once again in the thick of things.
After Trent Lenihan reached on an error, the veteran catcher advanced him to second with a single, before Starling Joseph’s own single scored Lenihan to give the Majors the lead. de Oleo then scored himself on a double by Tucker Zdunich to put London up 4-2, which held up as the final score in game one of a new era of baseball in the Forest City.
In his first three games, de Oleo is an impressive 7-for-11 with a pair of homers, four runs scored and five RBIs.
And the Majors have gotten off to a good start, winning two of their first three, including a win last Sunday in Brantford. They were rained out Tuesday in Chatham-Kent, and they dropped Thursday’s contest in Kitchener, 7-4, to the 3-0 Panthers.
“Overall, I’m pleased so far,” said Majors manager Roop Chanderdat. “We’re still assessing things. We brought in a lot of guys who can play multiple positions, so you’re just trying to figure out who slots in where. And also figuring out the batting order. That takes a bit of time.”
And, so, it’s on to the second week of the season. Two more games are on deck this weekend, followed by another contest in Kitchener Thursday …
UPCOMING GAMEDAYS
Friday (May 22, 7:05pm) vs. Guelph Royals (Probable starter: LHP Travis Keys)
Sunday (May 24, 2:00pm) @ Brantford Red Sox (Probable starter: LHP Cesilio Pimentel)
Thursday (May 28, 7:05pm) @ Kitchener Panthers (Probable starter: TBD)
Playoff redemption? The Majors will see the Guelph Royals Friday for the first time since the Royals ousted them in the first round of last year’s playoffs in convincing fashion. The Majors were the number three seed, while Guelph was the six, but the rankings belied their talent on the field, as the Royals had greatly improved their lineup during the stretch run of the season heading into the playoffs.
What they haven’t done – at least not yet – is carry that strong finish into a good start in the first year of CBL play. In fact, Guelph’s first two games have been lopsided road losses. They opened with a 16-2 drubbing at the hands of the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers and followed that with a 10-1 defeat against the Welland Jackfish. They’ll play their third road game in a row Friday against the Majors before opening their home schedule Saturday.
Garrett Takamatsu is the best player on this Royals team, and he’s already off to a fast start, with four hits and a walk in his first seven plate appearances. Jacob Kush, who enjoyed strong seasons on the mound for Guelph in 2024 and 2025, got off to a rough start this year, as he was knocked around in that Barnstormers loss, allowing seven earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings in the defeat.
Déjà vu in Brantford? The Majors are hoping for more of the same in the Telephone City on Sunday after they erupted for eight runs in a single inning one week prior in Brantford to beat the Red Sox, 10-5, at Arnold Anderson Stadium last Sunday in their second contest of the season.
The big fifth inning was clearly the difference in the ballgame, one where London racked up 18 hits to Brantford’s seven. The Majors batted around in the fifth, with Jaden Babiuk getting things started with a single to open the frame, later scoring on a wild pitch. Maikol Escotto singled and Roberto Caro walked before Lenihan, de Oleo and Joseph delivered back-to-back-to-back RBI singles.
Luis Jean drove in a pair, Babiuk recorded a second hit in the inning, later coming in to score again, and when all was said and done, London had rapped out eight hits in the frame. The loss dropped Brantford’s early record to 0-2, the same as the Guelph Royals, the other winless team London will play this weekend.
On the day, Escotto and de Oleo each had three hits, while Lenihan, who hit his first regular season CBL homer, went 2-for-4 with a walk and a pair of RBIs.Zdunich also homered for London, finishing the day with a similar 2-for-4 line and a walk.
No rust here. There’s an old saying in baseball that ‘some guys can just roll out of bed and hit.’ Starling Joseph appears to be one of those guys. The Majors’ right-fielder didn’t play last year and was only added to the team this year in the days leading up to the season when London’s eighth import player, a relief pitcher, was released.
And yet, last Friday night, in his first game action in 20 months, Joseph, a 27-year-old Dominican native, came to the plate and promptly delivered a line drive single to centrefield to get his season started. He had another hit and an RBI in that contest, and through three games is 6-for-13 with three RBIs.
“He took batting practice on the field on Wednesday, hit in the cage Thursday, and started for us Friday,” Majors manager Roop Chanderdat said. “He didn’t play all of last year, so last time he played would have been the playoffs the year before. I know it’s going to take him a little bit of time to get ready. You have to see pitches.”
That’s certainly true, and an early red flag is that Joseph has struck out seven times already (each of his outs thus far). And strikeouts have been an issue throughout his career. He had 40 of them in 37 games back in 2024. But he’s also deeply talented, a player who was an all-star in 2023 when he hit .304 with 10 home runs and a team-high 48 RBIs. And he’s arguably the most exciting player on the Majors.
“Other than Cleveland [Brownlee], he’s probably the biggest [fan favourite],” said Chanderdat. He’s got a good rapport with the fans. They like him. He’s a big guy who’s dancing, having fun out there. And he’s a presence in the lineup. He’s a guy that, every time he comes up, something big can happen.”
Previewing Pimentel. One of the Majors’ new import pitchers, Cesilio Pimentel, had his first scheduled start rained out on Tuesday, when he was set to debut against Chatham-Kent. Instead, he’s now penciled in to start against Brantford on Sunday, and Majors fans are eager to get their first glimpse of the left-hander.
“He’s got a lot of movement on his pitches. He keeps you off balance,” said Chanderdat. “He’s not a power pitcher. He’s 88 to 91mph with his fastball, but he’s got really good stuff.”
Thirty-three years old, Pimentel spent six seasons in affiliated ball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization before embarking on stints in independent ball and pro circuits in Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
“When he’s on,” Chanderdat said, “He’s a guy we think can be a top pitcher in the league.”
