The Washington Nationals are holding a “Canada-U.S. Friendship Day” when they host the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday evening at Nationals Park. The game includes a giveaway attained through purchase of a specialty ticket of a hat featuring a Nationals logo on a red maple leaf with a Montreal Expos logo on the side of the hat. The hat also comes in red, light blue and dark blue, representing an ode to the now-defunct Expos’ colours. The theme night comes amid trade tensions between the two longtime allies stemming primarily from tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Embassy of Canada in the U.S. said in a post on X that the evening serves as a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary through the two countries’ mutual love of baseball. The Expos moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C. at the end of the 2004 season and became the Nationals. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball team north of the border, arriving in 1969, eight years before the Blue Jays played their first game in 1977. The Jays and Nats have yet to meet this season. The last time Toronto played at Nationals Park was in early May of 2024. The Blue Jays enter play Saturday at 47-57, 10 games under .500 and 6.5 games out of the final American League wild-card spot.
