On June 2, 1866, in the Battle of Ridgway, Canadian troops faced an invading force streaming in from across the border with the United States.  This was not an official or authorized army; no, the invaders were an irregular group of Irish-Americans known as the Fenians.  The goal of the invaders was to take Canada temporarily hostage in the hope of forcing Britain to recognize Irish independence.  Irish independence may have been a good cause, but don’t ask me why the Fenians thought this hare brained scheme could accomplish that goal.  The invaders actually won the battle that day, but soon thereafter the invaders were completely expelled from Canadian soil, never to return.  The Battle of Ridgeway was the first fought exclusively by Canadian troops and led on the battlefield entirely by Canadian officers, the battle in which Canada’s modern military sustained its first thirty troops killed in action, and the last battle fought within the boundaries of Canada against a foreign invasion.  May our friends and neighbors to the north continue to be free of foreign invasion for at least another 160 years.  (June 2 became Decoration Day in Canada, honoring those Canadians who lost their lives in foreign wars, but apparently it is no longer officially celebrated; that remembrance is now held on November 11.)

On June 2, 2026, Canada’s team in MLB came to Atlanta with not so lofty a goal as defending the homeland from foreign invasion, but the more modest goal of reaching a .500 record for the season.  Well, they won’t achieve that goal in Atlanta.  With the Braves 4-3 victory tonight, the Blue Jays have fallen to 29-32 on the season.

Our Braves, on the other hand, continue to excel—the record is now 41-20.  Tonight’s game was another complete team effort and very satisfying victory.  Bryce Elder went 6.2, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits.  The offense did just enough to top those 3 runs.  Four runs off Kevin Gausman is a nice accomplishment.  In the first, RAJ walked and scored on a MHII double to the gap, and Michael later scored on an Ozzie sac fly to left.  The Jays tied it in the 2nd on a 2 run home run, but the Braves took a 3-2 lead in the 3rd, on a double from Olson and an rbi single from Albies.  Toronto tied it in the 6th, but it could have been worse.  The first two batters had a single and a double, but Elder held them to one run.  In the bottom of the inning, Matt Olson promptly put the Braves back on top with a solo homer to right.  The adjective “towering” was invented for blasts such as this one.  The launch angle was 49 degrees; our announcers said this was the highest home run hit this season, and I believe it.  A strong wind pushed the ball so that it just barely cleared the right field wall.  Matt (and all of us) will take it. 

By extending his outing into the 7th, Elder enabled Weiss to rely on the two dominant arms at the back end of the bullpen to finish the game.  Roberto Suarez finished up the 7th with a strikeout of George Singer, and held them scoreless in the 8th (a leadoff single was erased by a 6-4-3 DP).  His ERA is 0.68.  Raisel Iglesias shut them out in the 9th for his 29th consecutive save, dating back to last July.  He surrendered two singles, but he then induced two consecutive popups to end the game.  Iggy’s ERA is back under 1.00, at 0.96. 

In addition to being Decoration Day in Canada, today is Lou Gehrig Day in MLB, denoting the day in 1925 that the Iron Horse began his consecutive game streak, and also the sad day of his death 16 years later.  It’s nice that the Braves’ current Iron Horse had the game winning homer.

The Braves can clinch yet another series victory tomorrow, behind Grant Holmes.  The Blue Jays counter with Patrick Corbin, who I assumed had retired in disgrace following so many wretched (and overpaid) seasons for the Nats, but is apparently pitching pretty well for the Blue Jays.

P.S. I’m always delighted to defeat the Blue Jays, especially since 1992. But I do have a great admiration for many Canadian musicians, and therefore Canada more generally. Where would we be without Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and my favorite group of all time, The Band? Two singers from this millennium that I’m fond of are Kathleen Edwards and William Prince.