Majors jockey for playoff positioning

Around the Diamond: London looking to catch Guelph (or Hamilton) for sixth — and a better playoff scenario; Promising pitching from Martinez and two-way Schulefand; Historic power performance. Our latest news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Two steps forward, two steps back. That was the story last week for the London Majors, who sit in seventh place in IBL standings entering action this weekend. The club went 2-2 in their four games, most recently losing a 14-10 contest Tuesday to the Guelph Royals, a team they’re trying to catch for sixth place and set up a better first-round playoff matchup.

If the postseason began today, the Majors would have to face the second-place Barrie Baycats, whom they’ve gone just 1-4 against so far this year (to be fair, London has played them close in most of those contests). A sixth-place finish, though, would have the Majors face Kitchener, a team they’ve had more success against.

In fact, the Majors beat the Panthers just last Sunday when their offense exploded for 18 runs at Jack Couch Park in an 18-6 win. In the last month, London has won two of their three games against Kitchener. It’s not an easy matchup, of course, but it is a better one. In order to realize it, though, the Majors will need to catch the Guelph Royals (or Hamilton Cardinals), who are now, respectively, 3 1/2 and 4 games up on their London counterparts. 

So, every game is important from here on out for the 10-20 Majors, who have another busy weekend ahead – and a game Wednesday, too. They’ll play the Toronto Maple Leafs twice this weekend (Friday at home, Sunday in Toronto), the Brantford Red Sox Saturday, and Hamilton Wednesday.

Three of the four will take place at Labatt Park. Will the Majors enjoy the advantages of home cooking? …

1) Playing the long game. It was like a flashback to the 2022 season – and then some. Last Sunday, the Majors exploded for 18 runs in Kitchener in a road win and showed off their power by hitting eight home runs. Cleveland Brownlee and newcomer Jordan Schulefand went deep, Starling Joseph knocked out a pair, and Eduardo de Oleo had four (4!) long balls.

That’s not a typo. The catcher went deep four times in his six plate appearances (while racking up 8 RBIs). It’s thought to be a Majors franchise record. London’s manager, Roop Chanderdat, says it’s a feat that hasn’t been accomplished by anyone in the league during his 17 years at the helm. Brownlee and a few others have had three homers in a game, but not four.

For his efforts, de Oleo was named last week’s IBL Hitter of the Week. The 30-year-old had also homered and doubled during London’s 9-4 loss to Barrie on Saturday. On the year, de Oleo, who missed nearly a month due to injury, is batting .322 with 11 home runs, 30 RBIs and a 1.097 OPS in 22 games. His 11 homers have him tied for second in the league entering action this weekend.

As a team, London actually ranks second in the league in home runs – despite being at the bottom in batting average (and second lowest in runs scored). Their 40 long balls are second only to Kitchener’s 51. After de Oleo, Joseph and Byron Reichstein have seven each on the year, while Brownlee has five and Tommy Reyes-Cruz has three.

2) Two-way play. The Majors’ most recent addition (acquired just before the signing deadline last Monday), Jordan Schulefand, was brought in to be a starting pitcher. And while that will continue to be his primary role, it’s quickly become apparent that he can help in other ways, too.

Even before he took the mound for his first Majors start, Schulefand saw action in centre field, starting there last Friday night in London’s 4-3 extra-inning win over Welland. The 25-year-old Florida native, who was acquired after being released by Hamilton, went 1-for-3 with a sac bunt in the contest.

On Saturday, he made the start on the mound, working into the seventh inning on the road in Barrie. The right-hander departed the game trailing 5-3 with a runner on second. All told, he was charged with six earned runs in six innings of work, walking one and striking out six in the outing.

“I thought he had a real good start,” said Majors manager Roop Chanderdat. “He went deep, he threw the ball well. It was a close game. He’s got a good fastball and he challenges hitters and competes. I think there’s enough there to be successful.”

We won’t make any Shohei Ohtani comparisons, but the following day Schulefand found himself back in the lineup, this time at second base, and he went 2-for-5 at the plate with his first IBL home run in London’s lopsided win over Kitchener. On Tuesday, back at second base, he notched another hit to make him 4-for-12 with four runs scored in his first three games in the field for the Majors.

“We’re gonna use him,” said Chanderdat. “He’s my kind of guy. He’s got some speed, he can get on base, he can hit. His primary role is making his starts, but we’ll get him in (the lineup) when we can.”

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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3) Martinez win encouraging. And how about the Majors’ other new arm? Wilbur Martinez, also signed slightly before the deadline, earned his first win in a London uniform during the Majors’ offensive explosion contest in Kitchener last Sunday. And, especially considering the game was at very hitter-friendly Jack Couch Park, he had a solid showing.

The line doesn’t quite do it justice (four runs on six hits in six innings, with five walks and four strikeouts), but his outing was certainly deserving of a win.

“He pitched phenomenal,” said Chanderdat. “You go into Kitchener and give up four runs in six innings, that’s really promising. They have a really strong lineup, and he kept them off balance. It was a really good start.”

In fact, thanks in part due to their home park, the Panthers lead the league in several offensive categories, including runs scored (290), home runs (51), RBI (249) and OPS (.884). They’re second in batting average (.307).

It was a much-improved showing compared to his Majors debut, during which he allowed nine runs and walked five in just 4 1/3 innings in a loss to Hamilton on July 25. His overall ERA is obviously still inflated, but he’ll look to continue bringing it down and build off his encouraging start Sunday.

Both Martinez and Schulefand will make starts this weekend – one against Toronto and the other against Brantford.

4) Veteran workhorse. No IBL pitcher has appeared in more games this season than Majors reliever Braeden Ferrington. The veteran right-hander, whose Majors career dates back to 2014, has come out of the bullpen 18 times so far this year. That’s 18 out of London’s 30 games entering action this weekend.

It’s a remarkable figure, especially considering Ferrington underwent a procedure during the first week of the season to have a cyst removed from his left shoulder blade. He didn’t miss time as he healed from the procedure, and he’s been a mainstay, as usual, in London’s bullpen – though he’s been unhappy with his performance thus far.

“It’s been nothing but a head-scratcher. Whatever could go wrong has gone wrong, ten times over,” said Ferrington, whose 8.85 ERA is not in line with the numbers he posted during London’s back-to-back championship seasons in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, in fact, he posted a pristine 0.86 ERA in 12 games (31 1/3 innings). He followed that up with a 2.21 mark in 15 games (24 1/3 innings) last year.

“It hasn’t been ideal, but I still have to compete. Down the stretch, and as we head into playoffs, I’m hoping to tap into my past postseason success to help this year’s team compete and go as far as we can.”

Ferrington’s bullpen mate Skylar Janisse has also been very busy this year. The latter has actually thrown more innings (23) than Ferrington, doing so in 14 appearances.