News

A total of 15 Canadian players were included on the opening day rosters for 12 different Major League Baseball Club yesterday.

The players are as follows:

1. Erik Bedard (Navan, Ont.) - Baltimore Orioles
2. Adam Stern (Port Stanley, Ont.) - Boston Red Sox
3. Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) - Kansas City Royals
4. Mark Teahen - Kansas City Royals
5. Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) - Minnesota Twins
6. Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.) - Minnesota Twins
7. Rich Harden (Victoria, B.C.) - Oakland Athletics
8. Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.) - Atlanta Braves
9. Chris Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.) - Atlanta Braves
10. Ryan Dempster (Sechelt, B.C.) - Chicago Cubs
11. Jeff Francis (North Delta, B.C.) - Colorado Rockies
12. Eric Gagné (Montréal, Qué.) - Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Corey Koskie (Anola, Man.) - Milwaukee Brewers
14. Rheal Cormier (Moncton, N.B.) - Philadelphia Phillies
15. Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.) - Pittsburgh Pirates

Canada also has 79 players currently listed in the minor leagues including outfielder Aaron Guiel (Vancouver, B.C.), shortstop Danny Klassen (Leamington, Ont.), pitcher Steve Green (Longueuil, Qué.) and first baseman Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) as well as catchers Pierre-Luc Laforest (Hull, Qué.), Russell Martin (Chelsea, Qué.), Eric Langill (Point Clair, Qué.), Maxim St. Pierre (Québec, Québec) who are all playing at the Triple-A level.

Each weekday morning, Baseball Canada will track the progress of Canadian Major League Baseball players at www.baseball.ca.

Here’s what happened last night.

Position players

1. Red Sox Outfielder Adam Stern came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers. He did not get an at-bat.

2. Peter Orr of the Atlanta Braves went 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit single and one total base against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Jason Bay was 0-for-1 with three walks and one outfield assist against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pitchers

1. Atlanta Braves closer Chris Reitsma picked up his first save of the game in a wild 11-10 win over the Los Angles Dodgers. The line on Reitsma: 1.1 Innings pitched, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, 14 pitches-10 strikes, 3 ground outs-0 fly outs, 6 batters faced.

2. Ryan Dempster threw to five batters for the Chicago Cubs against the Cincinnati Reds. The line on Dempster: 1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 0 runs, 17 pitches-10strikes, 2 ground outs-0 fly outs, 5 batters faced

3. Phillies reliever Rheal Cormier threw one scoreless inning in a 13-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The line on Cormier: 1.0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 runs, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches-10 strikes, 3 ground outs-0 fly outs, 4 batters faced.

Five MLB games tonight feature at least one Canadian player:

Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers
Minnesota Twins vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees
Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates