FIDDLER'S FACTS: Quality pitching keeping Blue Jays, Charlottetown Islanders in baseball spotlight

Free minor hockey equipment exchange program offered at Bell Aliant Centre on Sept. 5

The Toronto Blue Jays and the local Charlottetown Gaudet’s Auto Body Islanders have benefitted from recent clutch pitching.

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Let’s take a closer look, first, at the Islanders, who swept the best-of-seven New Brunswick Senior Baseball League semifinal series against the Fredericton Royals after a 12-5 win in New Brunswick on Sept. 2 and a 2-1 walk-off win in Game 4 on Sept. 3.

On Sept. 2, the score was not indicative of the strong performance by Nathan Van Putten, who allowed one run in six innings of work. That game attracted 2,100 fans in Fredericton — a huge crowd for senior baseball — similar to the Game 2 audience on Aug. 31 here at Memorial Field.

This was a heated series with plenty of chirping from both dugouts.

Now the Islanders hope to win a fourth consecutive NBSBL crown and the right to head to the 2027 senior baseball nationals.

Tanner MacLean, the best pitcher in the league, Van Putten and veteran Brody McDonald, who has been a star in the NBSBL for almost 15 years, started on the mound for the first three games. Ironically, hard-throwing veteran Jordan Stevenson, who has been a key to Islanders past successes, got the call for Game 4 and pitched a complete game.

With that kind of a staff, the Islanders will likely win the New Brunswick crown again this year, although Chatham or Moncton will be a tougher test.

On the major-league front, it’s a similar script as the Blue Jays are in a fight for the final American League wild-card spot. Once again, pitching is keeping them in the chase. Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano were sharp in the last two wins in Ohio and young standout Trey Yesavage is set to return. The bullpen has been razor sharp all season, especially with Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers. The Jays’ 6-3 win in Cleveland on Sept. 3 was crucial as Toronto now holds the wild-card tie-breaker should those two teams be tied at the end of the regular season.

Toronto is chasing that final wild-card slot with Cleveland, Texas and Baltimore. The Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have a playoff lock with a month or so to go in the regular season.

Toronto is also better defensively than all the AL East clubs except Tampa Bay. It’ll be a very interesting end to the regular season.

Minor hockey is underway in the province and it’s time for parents to check out the annual free used hockey gear program, which was started by local businessman George Halliwell 15 years ago. This program is made possible because of the generous support of Island families that have donated equipment, skates, gear, etc. to the program, the support of sponsors of the gear bins, and the assistance of the Bell Aliant Centre staff.

“I have been able to recruit my friend Terry Burke as well as Chris Halliwell and Mark Jones, and we’ll be at the Bell Aliant Centre (Sept. 5) from 10:30 a.m.-noon,” sighed Halliwell.

If your child needs hockey equipment, go to the Bell Aliant Centre this morning.

Live harness racing continues at Red Shores Charlottetown on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m., with a 15-dash card. The $6,250 feature has a fast field with the likes of Fast Louie, Gigis Dream, Jmr Speak Away, Armitrage Hanover and Bee Two Bee. It’s also Horse Persons Day with the annual drivers’ championship featuring top divisional CDP drivers like Marc Campbell, Gilles Barrieau, Adam Merner, Corey MacPherson, Paul Langille, David Dowling, Harold Shepherd and Don MacNeill. The drivers’ competition goes in Races 4, 6, 8 and 10. It’s also a night to honour caretakers, an important role in the success of every racehorse.

It’s another exciting card at Mohawk on Sept. 5 and folks can wager via Red Shores. A number of familiar faces and Gold Cup horses are in to go, including Brue Hanover, Sugar Man, Fifth and Five, and iron-sided Saulsbrook Victor, which is closing in on the $1,000,000 plateau. James MacDonald is driving for owners Brett Macdonald and Brent MacLennan.

The $750,000 Canadian Pacing Derby has a wicked field, including Dr. Ian Moore’s Prince Hal Hanover, plus Best Chip p, 1.46.1; For Once in My Life, and a pair of big-time closers in Oakwood Ardan (James MacDonald ) and Aye Aye Captain Deo (Mark MacDonald).

Moore’s Beau Jangles captured the $150,000 OSS Gold earlier this week at Mohawk, winning in 1:48.3 under less than ideal conditions over Arnold Hagen’s bred Redland Rocket Man by half a length, the last quarter in a wicked 25.1.

Julie Jamieson and her right-hand man Zach Conway, who do such a great job with the P.E.I. Harness Racing Industry Association, informed me that the Atlantic classic yearling sale catalogue is now available online. It’s a sale loaded with talent, and we’ll review every Saturday right here. You may consider Bruce Wood, a Blue Jays fan, Hip #97, Woodmere Yesavage, a U.S. captain colt out of a $400,000 winner named after the Blue Jays ace righty. He could be your home run.

With all the attention on the Gold Cup and Saucer and Old Home Week, we missed the loss of a number of great contributors to the growth of harness racing here in Atlantic Canada. Doris Wood, mother of Bruce (Bronwyn) of Woodmere Farms, passed away early OHW and last week we also lost Shane Doyle, a colourful figure and who, with brothers Paul (Speck) and Vaughn, also played a big role in harness racing.

In addition, Charlottetown-born Bruce MacDonald, the colourful drum major at Queen Square cadet corps in the early 1960s and the voice of Grand Falls, N.L., senior hockey and of CBC sports, is no longer with us. Bruce was home many Old Home Weeks with his pal, the late Paul Murphy, for the Queen Square school reunions. Belated condolences to all connected.

From the source Fred MacDonald’s column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].

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