With the Tampa Bay Rays looking to bounce back in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday, Canadian catcher Liam Hicks gave his club a jolt in the first inning.
After Tampa Bay had pushed two runs across against Milwaukee Brewers starter Logan Henderson, Hicks stepped to the plate with a runner on first and deposited a second-pitch cutter into the second deck for a 4-0 lead.
The two-run shot travelled 411 feet and was Hicks's first long ball of this post-season.
It also put the 27-year-old into some pretty elite company as the fourth Canadian-born hitter to hit a home run in World Series history.
Only George Selkirk (1936), Larry Walker (2004) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2025) had previously left the yard in the Fall Classic.
All three hit multiple home runs in their respective World Series, but only Selkirk and his New York Yankees ended up winning the championship.
Hicks entered Saturday's game batting .194/.265/.266 with six RBIs for the Rays in these playoffs. He drove in two of those runs in Tampa Bay's Game 1 loss to Milwaukee.
Originally a ninth-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 2021, Hicks was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 2024 and selected by the Miami Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft later that year.
He debuted with the Marlins in 2025 and broke out in Miami this year before being dealt to the Rays at the trade deadline for a package of three prospects.
The Toronto native finished the regular season with an .801 OPS, 18 homers and 82 RBIs in 142 games split between Miami and Tampa Bay.
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