Payano & De Oleo Key parts to Majors win

Written by Dan Haugh / Photo by Matt Hiscox

Professional baseball has returned to London, Ontario, and the London Majors made sure to start the 2026 Canadian Baseball League season with a 4-2 win over the visiting Barrie Baycats Friday night at Labatt Park.

The Majors scored first in the bottom of the first inning when Roberto Caro reached base on an error committed by Barrie third baseman Adam Odd. Caro was brought home on a line-drive home run down the left-field line by cleanup hitter Eduardo De Oleo. The score remained 2-0 for London until the top of the seventh inning when the Baycats scored a pair of unearned runs to tie the game at 2-2.

London didn't wait long to regain the lead, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Trent Lenihan got aboard on another error by Barrie third baseman Adam Odd. De Oleo followed with a base hit into left field to move Lenihan to second base. Starling Joseph knocked Lenihan home with a single through the left side of the infield, which also moved De Oleo to second. De Oleo was then driven home by an RBI double from Tucker Zdunich.

That was all the scoring in the game as the London Majors held on for a 4-2 victory. London's starting pitcher was left-hander Victor Payano, who went five scoreless innings, allowing only three hits while striking out four. Payano was followed on the mound by Zachary Laird and Dustin Davidson, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn the win.

Skylar Janisse, the 2025 league leader in saves, notched his first save of the 2026 campaign with three strikeouts in the ninth inning. London's offence produced six hits in total. The big blow was De Oleo's two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, giving London an early 2-0 lead. Jarrett Burney added a two-out triple in the sixth inning. Tucker Zdunich's RBI double in the seventh inning, along with two singles from Starling Joseph and another single by Eduardo De Oleo, rounded out the London hit total.

The Majors will head out on a three-game road trip with a Sunday stop in Brantford, a Tuesday night visit to Fergie Jenkins Field in Chatham, and a Thursday night contest against the Kitchener Panthers before returning to Labatt Memorial Park on Friday, May 22, against the Guelph Royals.