Majors focused on health, timely hitting in final weekend

Around the Diamond: Focused on themselves, Majors don’t care who they face in playoffs; A pitching showdown and a ‘no quit’ attitude; Joseph can go the ‘extra’ mile; Some strategic pitching. Our latest news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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In the grand scheme of things, it was a ‘meaningless’ game — at least with respect to the standings — for the seventh-place London Majors. But there was nothing meaningless on the field during this past Wednesday’s contest.

For starters, the game featured a matchup between arguably the two best right-handed pitchers in the league – London’s Owen Boon and Guelph’s Claudio Custodio. Majors fans will remember that it was the talented Custodio the team beat in the tie-breaking game last year to clinch a second straight IBL pennant.

As expected, Wednesday’s contest was largely a pitcher’s duel, with opposing hitters scratching out a run here and a run there. Guelph led 2-1 when the starters departed. Down 3-2 in the ninth, London tried to muster a comeback rally, and it started with Drew Lawrence using his hustle to turn a potential single into a double.

When the outfielder was back on his feet after a headfirst slide, he pumped his fists and gestured towards the home dugout, clearly fired up. His teammates were just as excited.

“I take that as a great sign,” Majors manager Roop Chanderdat said. “For awhile now, we haven’t really been playing for standings. But we’re playing to get better, and we’re competing. The guys still care, and you can see that. I look at the guys on the bench and you can see there’s no quit.”

London ultimately fell short in the contest, but there were several positives to take away as the team continues to prepare for playoffs. They’re hoping for more of the same this weekend (and their final game Tuesday) before they embark on the postseason, where they hope to surprise some folks …

1) The State of Play. The Majors enter the weekend in seventh spot in the IBL standings, and that’s where they’ll finish at the end of the regular season. With the games remaining, they cannot catch Hamilton for sixth (they could tie, but the Cardinals would win the tie-breaker on head-to-head meetings), and they cannot be caught by eighth-place Brantford.

In other words, their first-round playoff matchup will come against the team that finishes in second place. That spot is currently held by the Barrie Baycats, who won Thursday night to improve to 26-14. But they’re just a half-game ahead of the Kitchener Panthers (25-14), who have a game in hand. Those two teams play each other Sunday in the final regular season game for both teams.

“They’re both really good teams. You finish second for a reason,” said Chanderdat. “They’ve had great regular seasons, and they’re both deep teams that will present a challenge. But it doesn’t matter who we face, we’re just focused on playing good baseball.”

If it does end up being Barrie, the Majors will have seen them most recently (they’re London’s opponent Friday in the team’s final home game of the regular season). London last played Kitchener a week ago in a 6-2 home loss. But Chanderdat says Friday’s contest – and the rest of the weekend – is more about preparing as a whole for playoffs, rather than for a particular opponent.

“We’re just looking to get healthy for the playoffs and to hit our stride, both individually and as a team,” he said. “That’s it, that’s all we’re trying to do. We know someone will give us a hefty challenge (in the first round).”

2) That said … Notably, Wilbur Martinez came out of the bullpen Wednesday night in relief of Owen Boon. It seemed like a strange call, given that Martinez is one of the team’s three main starting pitchers. It meant he wouldn’t be pitching against Barrie Friday. But that may have been by design. The Baycats haven’t seen Martinez yet, so why give them a preview before a potential playoff series?

Instead, Martinez is expected to pitch (maybe in relief again) on Saturday or Sunday. Jordan Schulefand is expected to start Sunday in Brantford. Friday’s starter is a game-time call, but either Jaryd Lund or Alex Springer, a pair of junior call-ups, is expected to get the ball, with the other coming out of the bullpen (Robert Mackie is also ready if called upon).

And Saturday? We may see Pedro De Los Santos take that turn in Welland against the Jackfish. With no movement possible in the standings, Chanderdat has the option to mix and match pitchers to his liking this weekend. And that includes getting Skylar Janisse and Braeden Ferrington into situations that hopefully can build their confidence heading into the playoffs.

Wilbur Martinez pitches in relief of Owen Boon in London’s 3-2 loss to the Guelph Royals Wednesday, Aug. 16 at Labatt Park. (Photo: Wild Ave. Photography).

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3) ‘Extra! Extra!’ With a strong performance this weekend (and on Tuesday), Majors outfielder Starling Joseph has a legitimate shot at leading the league in extra-base hits for the regular season. With nine homers, 14 doubles and a triple, Joseph’s 24 extra-base hits are currently second most in the league behind Tyler Duncan (25) of Hamilton.

Working in Joseph’s advantage is the fact London has four games left while the Cardinals have three. An 0-for-5, three-strikeout performance Wednesday aside, the 25-year-old has been swinging the bat well in recent weeks. Prior to that game against Guelph, Joseph had recorded nine extra-base hits in his previous nine games.

As a team, the Majors are fifth out of eight teams with 112 extra-base hits in 38 regular season games. Their 48 home runs are tied for second with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After Joseph’s 24, the next highest Major is Eduardo de Oleo with 15. Tommy Reyes-Cruz has 14, while Byron Reichstein has 13.

Joseph also enters the weekend fifth in the league in RBIs (44). de Oleo has racked up 40 in 26 games, while the next closest Major is Reichstein at 24. de Oleo, who missed nearly a month due to injury earlier in the season, is reportedly day-to-day with a nagging injury and isn’t guaranteed to see action this weekend – although Chanderdat is hopeful his catcher will see the field.

4) Home sweet home. Okay, it’s not like the Majors have a .750 winning percentage at home, like they did during the 2022 season (actually, .762), but London has played significantly better at Labatt Park this year than they have on the road.

Just how much better? They have a chance to finish above .500 at home with a win Friday against Barrie, which would improve their home record to 11-10. On the road? They’re 3-15, with three more games away from Labatt Park left to play. It’s not a good sign when you can count your road wins on one hand, especially when you don’t have home-field advantage in the playoffs, but the Majors are going to have to find the answer if they hope to advance in the postseason.

Back in May, London won back-to-back road games – against Brantford on May 26 and in Barrie May 27. Since then? Just one road win to speak of. Although it was a convincing one. That was London’s 18-6 drubbing of Kitchener at Jack Couch Park on July 30 when the club set home run records. They hit eight as a team, while Eduardo de Oleo had four himself, which is thought to be the first time in Majors franchise history.

Looking for a good sign? Two of those road wins came against a team they’ll face in the first round of playoffs.