In a series where the Baltimore Orioles were 22-7 outscored by the New York Mets, a former major leaguer with 14 seasons to his name made a remark that rubbed Canadians in the wrong way. Serving as a guest analyst for MASN, Brian Roberts made a questionable comment insulting enough that Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer ultimately told Roberts, “You gotta be really careful. I’d shut that down now if I were you.”

So, what exactly did he say that drew a warning from Palmer and prompted a brutal clapback from Blue Jays’ infielder Ernie Clement on Saturday? “Sometimes we had some major questions about the baseball IQ of some Canadians. At times it felt like maybe they enjoyed or knew a little bit more about hockey than baseball.” He said. The MASN and the Orioles never addressed Roberts’ insulting statements. However, he was called out by Blue Jays nation on Reddit.

The former Orioles player and Hall of Fame inductee apologized for his statements on Saturday. Still, infielder Ernie Clement was furious.

“We get 40,000 a night here. I mean, they probably get 5,000 a night, so it makes sense that you’d be a little salty about that,” he said. For the record, Blue Jays’ attendance happens to rank second in the American League and ninth in the majors. They draw 34,548 fans per game, according to Baseball Reference.

Whereas the Baltimore Orioles rank 23rd in that category. On average, they draw 22,055 pax per game.  “I’m surprised that (Roberts) would say that. He played in this division and played against this team for a long time, and it’s a shame that’s how he feels.” Blue Jays’ infielder added. Clement is in his third season with Toronto and it couldn’t sit well with him since he has known Roberts for a long time.

In Roberts’ defense, he had clarified earlier, “It was not meant to be an insult.” In his view, while acknowledging that it could be generic, he stated that there would be far fewer Canadians who, in comparison to Americans, would know all about baseball. To him, baseball is exclusively Americans’ pastime, not Canadians.

Yet, the Toronto Blue Jays pulled off a clean series sweep over the Orioles.

Ernie Clement’s key moment in Blue Jays’ win over Orioles

In his big night, the Blue Jays’ infielder handed the Blue Jays a two-run lead. His crucial hit came in the fourth inning. It was a one-out double towards the left field corner, scoring Alejandro Kirk and Daulton Varsho.

It was his consecutive night of multiple hits. Also, it was his third time with such a feat in his last five appearances. He holds a decent slash line of .279/.314/.400 with 41 extra-base hits across 542 plate appearances.

With the weekend’s dominance, the American League-leading Blue Jays have notched their fourth consecutive win. Except for Clement, their trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber had a big night too. He allowed only one run over six innings. “He was in total control today.” Said manager Schneider for the young phenom. “We’re in a pennant race playing good baseball, and that’s really what it’s all about.” He said after the game.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles, who sit at the bottom in the AL East, suffered their third straight loss.
Up next, the Blue Jays will head to Tampa for the three-game series against the Rays. It’ll be Trey Yesavage’s much-anticipated debut night.