Playoff preview: Majors battle Cardinals in first round

Around the Diamond: London set for series against Hamilton; Will pitching decide this first-round matchup?; Duncan does damage on Cardinals offense; London’s deep bullpen could be wild card …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

The London Majors are in a good place. They’re not the juggernaut team they were in 2022, when they won the second of back-to-back Intercounty Baseball League titles, but they’ve been playing with the mindset of ‘playoff baseball’ for the last month, so they’re ready for the grind of an IBL postseason.

They’ve been doing the little things – because every little thing counts in the playoffs. They’ve had good starting pitching, played quality defense and, perhaps most important, been getting the timely hits that are so important in close ballgames.

“When you get the hits is so crucial in the playoffs, and we’ve been doing a better job of that, of hitting with runners in scoring position,” said Roop Chanderdat, the Majors’ GM and field manager. “We’re playing scrappy baseball, and the guys are confident heading into the playoffs.”

They’ll get their first taste of the postseason Friday night when they open a best-of-five series against the Hamilton Cardinals. London finished third in the regular season; Hamilton was sixth. It’s likely to be a close series, as the two teams have played each other close the entire year.

“It’s going to be tight. They have really good pitching, and we’re going to have to match that,” said Chanderdat. “We don’t have a star-heavy team, it’s a different vibe this year, but we’re scrapping away and doing the little things. We’re ready to go.”

IBL Playoffs First Round: London Majors (No. 3) vs. Hamilton Cardinals (No. 6) (best-of-five series)

Game 1: Fri. Aug. 23 (7:35pm at Labatt Park)
Game 2: Sat. Aug. 24 (7:35pm @ Bernie Arbour Stadium)
Game 3: Sun. Aug. 25 (4:05pm at Labatt Park)
Game 4: Tues. Aug. 27 (7:35pm @ Bernie Arbour Stadium) (if necessary)
Game 5: Wed. Aug. 28 (7:35pm at Labatt Park) (if necessary)

1) Tale of the Tape. The Majors (26-16 during the regular season) and Cardinals (18-24) met five times, with London coming out on top in three of those contests. But they were almost all close. Three of the games were decided by a single run, and total runs scored in the season series was 25-24 for the Majors. That’s about as close as it gets.

Pitching:

Team ERA: London 4.25 / Hamilton 4.63
Strikeout-Walk ratio: London 405:141 (2.87) / Hamilton 319:155 (2.06)
Opponent batting average: London .281 / Hamilton .279

A pair of starting pitchers on both teams finished in the top 10 in the league in ERA: London’s Victor Payano, who will start Friday night, was tied for sixth with a 2.96 mark; Hamilton’s Takaki Eguchi was eighth at 3.07; the Majors’ Travis Keys, who will start Saturday, was ninth with a 3.45 ERA; and Mizuki Akatsuka was 10th with a 3.46 mark.

Hitting:

Team batting average: London .269 / Hamilton .262
Runs scored: London 242 / Hamilton 230
Home runs: London 35 / Hamilton 22

Only the Cardinals had a player in the top 10 in league hitting, as Tyler Duncan, the team’s star hitter, finished fifth in the IBL with a .339 batting average. He was fourth in the league with 56 hits. The Majors’ Kaiden Cardoso, who was in the top 10 for most of the year, finished just outside with a .327 batting average. (Drew Lawrence hit .400 but his 83 plate appearances fell well short of the minimum required to qualify for the leaders).

REGULAR SEASON SERIES: London vs. Hamilton (Majors win 3-2) 

Hamilton 5 @ London 8 (May 26)
Hamilton 6 @ London 3 (June 16)
London 6 @ Hamilton 5 (Aug. 2)
Hamilton 4 @ London 3 (Aug. 11)
London 5 @ Hamilton 4 (Aug. 13)

2) Pitching takes centre stage. As mentioned, both teams had a pair of starters in the top 10 in the league in ERA. Both teams have pitched well in 2024, and that should be the case in this series. The Majors will open with Victor Payano in Game 1, with fellow left-hander Travis Keys set to take the mound for Game 2 in Hamilton Saturday.

Then it gets interesting for London. Chanderdat likes to use his best arms – whether starter or reliever – to nail down close games. This could mean Jose Arias will be available out of the bullpen in the first two games of the series. If he’s not used, he’ll almost certainly make the Game 3 start back in London Sunday. And he could be the wild card of this series.

Two years removed from a dominant (and record-setting) season in 2022, when he helped the Majors win their second straight IBL championship, Arias has struggled in 2024. He hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t been the all-star Arias of old. In 14 games (13 starts), he posted a 4.46 ERA during the regular season. He had 82 strikeouts in a team-high 78 2/3 innings, but he also had 26 walks.

Still, by definition, he’s averaged nearly a quality start (4.50 ERA), meaning that more often than not, he’s still giving his team a chance to win the ballgames he starts. The Majors may just need to produce a bit more offense on those nights.

After the starters? London turns to relievers Tyler Gillies, Skylar Janisse and Braeden Ferrington (“those are some good pitchers right there,” says Chanderdat). And then there’s Jonathan Henry, Daniel Gore, Jaryd Lund and Christian Coombes.

“They’re all capable, and I’m confident in all of them,” the manager said.

Majors right-hander Jose Arias could play a key role in their playoff series against the Hamilton Cardinals. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

3) Skylar’s steady presence in ‘pen. Of those bullpen arms listed, the most impressive in 2024 has been perhaps Skylar Janisse, who has bounced back from a poor season last summer to post sparkling numbers over 14 appearances this time around.

Over 19 1/3 innings, the right-hander owns a 1.86 ERA. He’s struck out 23 batters and walked just three for an impressive ratio. He racked up the Ks last year, too, but he lacked control and was very hittable, resulting in a bloated 7.67 ERA in 18 games (31 2/3 innings).

Janisse has pitched in just three games in August, but he’s had scoreless outings each time, striking out five in four innings. His 1.09 WHIP is the best on the Majors’ pitching staff, and he’s held opponents to a .237 batting average this summer.

Pitching is crucial in the playoffs – and, often, it is bullpen arms that are required to step up and play outsized roles to put a team over the edge. If London can get this type of production from Janisse in the playoffs, they’ll be in great shape when the baton gets passed from their starters to their bullpen.

4) Dealing with Duncan – and more. As he’s done in recent seasons, Tyler Duncan drives the Hamilton Cardinals’ offense. This year, though the home runs have been pedestrian, he still finished as a top 10 hitter in the league, batting .339, and he was fourth in the IBL with 56 hits. He led Hamilton hitters in at-bats, runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS.

But can the Majors simply pitch around him? Though the Cardinals lineup was in the bottom half of the league in terms of offensive production this year, it’s still not ideal. There are other weapons on this team, including Dennis Dei Baning, who batted .282 with 21 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 41 games, and Luis Bernardo, who played in all 42 games and was just one RBI shy of Duncan’s team lead.

The Cardinals run more than London. They stole 70 bases during the regular season, which was second most in the league behind the Welland Jackfish. Majors catcher Eduardo de Oleo and his strong arm will certainly be tested in this series. And it’s not just one or two players. While Brandon Nicholson (14) and Del Baning (10) led the way, four other players had at least five steals. So, they’re not a station-to-station team as much as the Majors are.

Keeping the Hamilton offense in check could be the key to this series for the London Majors, because they know the Cardinals will pitch well. Runs will be hard to come by as it is. The Majors won’t be able to afford giving up extra runs in what is expected to be a close series.