North of the border

Mike Johnson during his time pitching for the Canadian National Team

In a rare matchup of homegrown starting pitchers – and coinciding with Canada’s 133rd birthday – Montreal’s Mike Johnson finds himself on the losing end of a 6-5 decision to Florida’s Ryan Dempster 26 years ago today before a smallish Saturday night crowd of 8,529 at Olympic Stadium. ‍

Johnson, a native of Edmonton and pictured here with Team Canada, lasts only four innings, giving up all six of Florida’s runs on eight hits and two walks.

Dempster, the pride of the district of Sechelt in British Columbia, fares much better than Johnson, picking up the win after allowing three runs in six-plus innings.

Dempster also helps himself with a two-out RBI single off Johnson in the top of the fourth inning to give the Marlins a 4-1 lead.

For his career, Dempster enjoys pitching at Olympic Stadium, where he is 5-0 in eight starts against the Expos from 1998-2004.

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