Game 11: Road Troubles - Maple Leafs @ Barrie, May 30

It took longer than usual to get this entry posted.  Apologies for the delay.  I spent most of today recuperating from a triple ordeal that happened before, during and after last night's Toronto Maple Leafs game in Barrie.

The first ordeal was in getting to Barrie, to a ballpark I'd never been to.  The directions were fine, but from downtown TO, it took almost two-and-a-half hours to get to Schmidt and Shaw Stadium at the Barrie Community Sports Complex.  It was an hour just getting to Highway 400, then a slow crawl most of the way up.  Accidents, broken down vehicles, heavy volume, flash mobs, everything got in the way.

The second ordeal - the game itself - was nasty, brutish and short.  The Maple Leafs lost their third game in a row.  They could get nothing going offensively, and a quick early lead by the Barrie Baycats was all the hosts would need to seal a win.

The third ordeal was in leaving Barrie.  I got a jump on the crowd at the park and was peeling out of the parking lot as the post-game fireworks began popping overhead. 

At the first intersection out of the complex, I realized I hadn't thought through the return route back to Toronto, and now it was pitch dark.  I followed some vehicles to the next intersection, where they started branching off in different directions.  I took a guess on a turn, but instead of getting on the main drag back through town, I ended up on a long residential drive.  My innate sense of direction indicated I was still heading towards Lake Simcoe and the highway, so I kept going.

But, after a series of turns and backtracks got me further away from the lights of the city, I had to accept one of the most humiliating things that can befall a man.  I was lost.

I drove onward, convinced that the highway would suddenly rise up ahead.

Hours later, I was off-roading through increasingly wet terrain.  I started to weaken and feel light-headed.  Trees closed in on me, only for the SUV to break through into what seemed to be the Holland Marsh.  My vehicle began to sink into the bog.  I had to stop.  I was dizzy and losing all sense of perspective.  Venturing out of the vehicle, I could only manage a few steps before my shoes were sucked off in the muck.  Despairing, I wailed and fell sideways, then blacked out.

How long I remained there is uncertain.  I was roused by the sudden high-pitched roar of an elephant somewhere nearby.  A pair of strong hands lifted me up.  My half-conscious mind picked up the scent of cloves and incense.  I was saved.  It was the Munshi, my Indian manservant.  In the final moments of delirium, I must have managed to activate the Emergency Distress Beacon in the SUV, and he had tracked me down in the darkness, in the middle of the night.

When we got back home, he plied me with tea and garlic bread.  I slept for ages.  That's why this entry is late today.


Recap:

Baycats rightfielder Ryan Spataro led off the bottom of the 1st with a single off Maple Leafs starter Marek Deska.  He was followed by DH Kyle DeGrace, who hit a long flyball past Toronto rightfielder Jordan Castaldo for a double, advancing Spataro to third.  From there, Spataro would be driven home on a single by centerfielder Jeff Cowan, and DeGrace would come home when first baseman Jon Waltenbury hit into a double play.  2-0 Baycats after 1.

Baycats third baseman Kevin Atkinson led off with a flyball to Castaldo in center-right that Castaldo misplayed, allowing Atkinson to dash all the way to third base.  A sacrifice fly by catcher Brendan Keys plated Atkinson to make it 3-0 after 2.

For the Leafs, shortstop Cody Mombourquette and centerfielder Glenn Jackson each singled in the 3rd, but they were left on base.  This, sadly, was the Leafs' biggest inning.

Left fielder Raul Borjas singled in the top of the 6th, and Castaldo walked and stole a base in the 7th, but they were left stranded by Baycats starter Brad Bissell, who gave up just three hits over 7 innings.

In the bottom of the 6th, Kevin Atkinson drove in two more Barrie runs to make it 5-0.  The Leafs stranded 5 more baserunners over the 7th, 8th and 9th innings, and fireworks lit up the night sky after the final out.  The game was over in just under two hours.

The Maple Leafs are now 4-5, on a 3-game losing skid.  They sit in 5th place in the standings, 3.5 games behind the Brantford Red Sox.  Their next game is at the Pits on June 2nd, against those same Red Sox.

Game 10: Postponed - Kitchener Panthers @ Toronto, May 29

The Toronto Maple Leafs tweeted this at 4:00 p.m. today:

Tonight's game vs. the Kitchener Panthers has been postponed due to poor field conditions. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.

To the wine cellar!

Game 9: Brutal Retribution - Guelph Royals @ Toronto, May 26

Rough day at the office for the local nine.

The sight of a Guelph Royals hitter working his home run trot was a common one this afternoon, as the visitors sought retribution for their 16-1 defeat at Christie Pits on May 15.  The Royals pounded out 19 hits including 6 home runs today.  After just half an inning of play, they had run up a 9-0 lead.

The retribution was brutal.

And to think, it all started off as a kind of pastoral idyll at Christie Pits.  The sun shone in a cloudless sky, the grass on the slopes was freshly mown, and the elm trees that stand high above the field released seedlings that floated down like confetti.  Dogs cavorted, children romped, spectators sprawled out in the sun.

For the Maple Leafs, the idyll became Dante's Inferno right from the start.  Starter Clay Caulfield was rocked for 9 runs off of 8 hits including 4 home runs, and was yanked after two-thirds of an inning.  The Leafs would rely on five relief pitchers to get through the remainder of the game.

But the game was over before it began.  The Leafs would scrape out 4 runs over nine innings, but the Royals' opening barrage was too much to overcome.

And just like that, the Royals are on a modest streak.  Having rallied from behind to beat the Hamilton Cardinals the night before, today's win gives them two in a row.

As for the Leafs, this was their second loss in a row.  It's not that they aren't hitting the ball - they got 11 hits today and 10 the day before.  The left-on-base numbers - 11 today and 8 yesterday - suggest that the timely hits they were getting earlier in the season haven't been there this weekend. 

Ah well, it's a long season as they say.  The boys in blue can tend to their wounds, have some wine and return to the Pits Wednesday night ready to start a new rampage of retribution.


Recap:

Is this really necessary?  It was brutal.  For those sadists among you, here it is.

Maple Leafs starter Clay Caulfield faced 11 batters to start the game.  He was treated quite rudely by the Guelph Royals, who racked up 8 hits and 9 runs, including home run shots by Sean Reilly, Justin Interisano, Chaz Pal and Josh Garton.  Caulfield was relieved by Cam Grey after retiring just two Royals' batters.

In the bottom of the 1st, Leafs shortstop Cody Mombourquette continued his pursuit of .500 by hitting a single.  He advanced to third base on a wild pitch and a single by rightfielder Jordan Castaldo, then was driven home on a single by leftfielder Raul Borjas.  Mombourquette ended the day with a .478 batting average.

In the 3rd inning, Adam Garner came in to relieve Grey, and he pitched three innings.  Royals first baseman Reilly blasted his second home run of the game in the top of the 3rd to make it 10-1.

Royals rightfielder Dan Treccia doubled to lead off the 4th inning, then was driven home by DH Brent teBoekhorst to make it 11-1.

Reilly, Interisano and Treccia each drove in a run in the 5th, raising the Royals tally to 14-1.

Interisano hit his second home run of the game with a man on base in the top of the 7th.  Despite making it a 16-1 score, the homer brought a roar from the crowd when a young man playing outfield in the adjoining field caught the ball and threw it back all in one motion.  He doffed his cap to acknowledge the applause, then turned back to his game.

The Maple Leafs were not completely dead by this point.  Drew Taylor pitched a scoreless inning in the 6th, Scott Kelly gave up the 2-run shot in the 7th, and Justin Cicatello became the sixth Leafs pitcher of the day when he came in to start the 8th and ride out the rest of the game. 

With two outs in the bottom of the 8th, catcher Will Richards singled and advanced to second on a walk, then got driven home on a single by third baseman Sean Mattson.  16-2 after 8 innings.

The Leafs added two more runs in the bottom of the ninth.  Centerfielder Glenn Jackson doubled, moving to third on a passed ball.  Raul Borjas walked.  Will Richards then singled and moved to second on an error by Treccia in right field, which brought home both Jackson and Borjas.  The game ended with a 16-4 final score.

The Leafs are now 4-4 and 2.5 games behind the Brantford Red Sox.  Their next game is May 29 at Christie Pits against the Kitchener Panthers.

Game 8: Valhalla I Am Coming - Maple Leafs @ Brantford, May 25

While driving down the 403 to Brantford earlier this afternoon, I got it in my head to infuse this entry with violent viking war imagery.  The clash today, between the leaders of the Intercounty Baseball League, would be like two hordes of big Norsemen crashing at each other in a battle for supremacy.  "Come from the land of the ice and snow" and all that, thank you Zeppelin on the stereo. 

Essentially, a win today would mean first place for either team: the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Brantford Red Sox.

In their previous encounter on May 12, the Red Sox emerged victorious from a freezing rainstorm by a score of 11-1.  It was a rout that the Leafs looked to avenge today.

But one does not simply walk into Brantford and expect to triumph.  These are, after all, the five-time defending league champions, and Arnold Anderson Stadium is their sacred ground.  The Leafs would have to throw everything into it, and hope that the hammer of the gods struck in their favour.

And the Leafs struck first, scoring a run off Brandon Huffman - the same Sox starting pitcher they had faced previously.  This boded well, but the Red Sox are a resilient horde not easily discouraged.  They struck back with two runs in the 1st and it looked like both teams would spend the afternoon wailing away on each other.

But the tide of war turned on one pitch in the 2nd inning.  A hard liner back to the mound hit Leafs starter Brett Lawson on the right foot or ankle, and he went down.  Not in a heap, but down on a knee.  He slammed his glove to the ground.  He got up and took a few steps, knelt down again, talked it over with the team trainer, then tried a few practice pitches.  Lawson stayed in the game, but the course of the battle had changed irrevocably.

Lawson returned to pitch the third inning, but he was not 100%, favouring his right foot.  The Red Sox scored another run in the 3rd.  Lawson went back out again in the 4th - legend! - and fought off another scoring threat by the home side.  He got out of the 4th without surrendering any more runs.  His teammates carried his body off the field of battle, and set it aside in the dugout.  After the game, they would place him in an ornately carved longboat, set it ablaze and cast it off into the Grand River.  VALHALLA I AM COMING.


Viking-free recap:

With two outs in the 1st inning, Leafs rightfielder Jordan Castaldo walked, advanced to third on a single by leftfielder Raul Borjas, and came home to score on a single by first baseman Will Richards.

In the bottom of the 1st, Leafs starter Brett Lawson fielded a comebacker with his bare hand for the first out.  But then he gave up a walk and a couple of singles that put the Red Sox ahead 2-1 after 1.

Red Sox DH John Mariotti led off the 2nd with a hard liner that struck Lawson.  Lawson remained in the game and got out of the inning unscathed.  But Lawson was not at 100% after that.  He loaded the bases in the bottom of the 3rd, and a Brantford run scored on a passed ball by catcher Damon Topoli.  3-1 Red Sox after 3.

The Leafs tightened the game in the top of the 5th. Centerfielder Glenn Jackson doubled and shortstop Cody Mombourquette walked.  Raul Borjas would drive home Mombourquette to make the score 3-2, but that was as close as the Leafs would come on this day.

Marek Desma came in to relieve Lawson in the bottom of the 5th.  He gave up a couple of runs, and another in the bottom of the 8th.  The Red Sox cruised home with a 6-2 win on 12 hits.  The Leafs got 10 hits on the day but it wasn't enough. Lawson was tagged for the loss, while Brandon Huffman got his second win against the Leafs this season.

With the win, the Red Sox are atop the league with a 6-2 record.  The Maple Leafs slip down to 5th place, 1.5 games back.  The Leafs' next game is at home against the Guelph Royals on May 26.

Game 7: Postponed - Maple Leafs @ Burlington, May 23

From the Burlington Bandits' website:

Burlington, ON - The Burlington Bandits, proud members of the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) announce that the game scheduled for Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 against the Toronto Maple Leafs have been postponed due to poor weather conditions. 

Tonight's game will be rescheduled to a future date.

I will find a way to cope tonight, in the wine cellar.



UPDATE: This game has been rescheduled to Thursday, August 1 @ 7:00pm.

Game 6: Splendour in the Grass - Burlington Bandits @ Toronto, May 19

During a recent game at Christie Pits, I overheard a visiting player remark to his teammate: "This place is the Bermuda Triangle of baseball.  It's a sand pit."

Not sure if he was remarking on the quality of the field, the playing conditions at the park, or some other weird mystery that hangs over the place.  Maybe he was just stating fact.

Dominico Field at Christie Pits is located inside an emptied out quarry.  Stone, sand and clay - remnants of the last ice age - were mined here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  The excavated materials were used to build some of the earliest roads and public buildings in Toronto.

That's not the only thing that was dug up some hundred years ago.  According to Toronto: An Illustrated History of Its First 12,000 Years, the remains of mammoths were also found here.

The Christie Sand Pits were named for the street that runs along one side of the former quarry.  Christie Street was named after William Mellis Christie, who co-founded Christie, Brown & Company biscuit and cookie makers in Toronto in 1861.  Yes, he's that Mr. Christie.

In 1909 the depleted quarry was closed down for good.  The city turned the site into Willowvale Park, but the name Christie Pits has endured to this day.

In 1969, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the IBL began play here, and it has remained their home for 45 summers.

As I follow the Maple Leafs during the summer of 2013, I'm trying to take in the games from as many vantage points as possible.  This afternoon I lay down on the eastern slope overlooking the field, and watched amid the grass and dandelions.

The newly-minted Burlington Bandits were in town today.  The team rebranded this year after being the Burlington Twins for a couple of seasons.  Their flashy red and pewter uniforms take a cue from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  But is the team any good?

The Bandits rolled in with a 1-3 record, not great but it's early days.  They jumped off to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st, and it appeared as if the Maple Leafs might still be reeling from their walkoff loss in Kitchener last Thursday night.  Three - three! - errors by the Leafs set an ominous tone to the day.

But the boys in blue got sorted, stormed back to retake the lead, and ended up winning comfortably 10-5.

A detailed recap of all the scoring and key plays will have to wait until Pointstreak gets updated.  It looks to have frozen in the 1st inning and remains that way.  I didn't take any notes during the game, and there's nothing on Twitter.  It's as if the game has disappeared into a kind of... BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

Run awayyyy!



UPDATE:

Pointstreak is alive and well.  Recap follows.

After the aforementioned comedy of errors, the Maple Leafs scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st to make it a whole new ballgame.

Hot hitting shortstop Cody Mombourquette singled, then stole second, and was driven home by rightfielder Jordan Castaldo.  Castaldo scored on a double by first baseman Will Richards.  Richards came around to score on a single by catcher Damon Topolie and a fielding error by Burlington.  Tie game!  3-3 and both teams combined for 5 errors after 1.

In the bottom of the 2nd, second baseman Rob Gillis singled and stole second base, then was driven home by centerfielder Glenn Jackson to give the Leafs their first lead of the day.

The Bandits tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the 4th.  Second baseman Jamie Lekas singled, stole second, reached third on an error, and came home on a single by catcher Bradley Bedford.

Glenn Jackson hit a 2-run home run to give the Leafs the lead again in the bottom of the 4th, 6-4.

In the top of the 5th, an error by Mombourquette allowed Bandits' left fielder Brian Sewell to advance to second base.  Sewell was driven home on a single by DH Jeff MacLeod.  6-5 Toronto.  The Bandits stayed close all day, taking advantage of sloppy plays by the Leafs and making them count for runs.  But the Leafs' hit machine churned out enough runs to put the game away.

Will Richards had himself a day, belting a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 5th to make it 8-5.  Richards would go 5-for-5 on the day with the home run and 3 RBIs, raising his batting average to .455.

The Leafs scored a couple more runs in the 6th to make it 10-5 and the Bandits had no further reply.  Drew Taylor and Justin Cicatello pitched two shutout innings each in relief of starter Clay Caulfield.

The Leafs' RBI's were produced by five different hitters: Richards (3), Jackson (3), Castaldo (1), Topolie (1) and DH Kevin Hinton (1). 

After taking a bad turn in Kitchener, the Leafs have corrected course and are back in the win column.  Their record is 4-2, a game behind the Brantford Red Sox who lost in London today.  Their next game is on the road, Thursday May 23 against these same Burlington Bandits.

Game 5: One Bad Turn - Maple Leafs @ Kitchener, May 16

When I look at a map of Kitchener, my teeth itch. 

Toronto's streets are laid out on a nice grid.  Burlington, Hamilton, London, all nice grids.

Then there's Kitchener, which looks like a plate of spaghetti that's been dropped on the floor.  Kitchener has roads that snake around every which way, intersecting at weird angles.  There are eight different King Streets.  One bad turn can throw you right off course.  I know this from previous experience.  There was one time in Kitchener when one bad turn stuck me on an endless service road that took forever to get off of. 

One bad turn is all it takes.

I studied a road map well in advance of driving down for the Toronto Maple Leafs' game against the Kitchener Panthers at Jack Couch Park last night.  Got there without incident.

Jack Couch is a nice little park, home to a club that has been in existence since 1919 - as long as the league itself.  A small clubhouse has an announcer's booth that overlooks the field from behind the tall backstop fence.  A symmetrical green fence curves around the outfield with a variety of tall trees peeking over.  You can hear and see the traffic moving on Highway 7 behind the fence, giving the park an urban feel. 

The fans there seemed pretty upbeat, and they really like pounding down sausages.  No hot dogs, gotta be sausages.  Must be a Kitchener thing.  It's no accident that a giant illuminated Schneider's sign greets you as you enter Sausageland.

The only flaw with the park is that because of the way the field is laid out, fielders have to squint into the setting sun for the first couple of innings.  And the lights on the outfield scoreboard are wonky.  Before the game had even begun, they were showing a 3-0 score for the visiting team.

Recap:

The momentum of the Maple Leafs' 16-1 rout of Guelph the night before carried over into this game, as they put on another show of offensive power.

Centerfielder Glenn Jackson led the game off with a double, and Jordan Castaldo blasted a home run to make it 2-0 before the sun had even dipped below the horizon.

DH Kevin Hinton started off what would become a monster night for him with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd to make it 3-0.

Panthers' shortstop Keith Kandell drove in a run in the bottom of the 2nd, and rightfielder Bryon Bell drove in another in the 3rd to make it 3-2. (According to the wonky scoreboard, it was 8-4.)

Leafs' first baseman Sean Mattson led off the 4th with a home run.  Leftfielder Raul Borjas followed that with a double, but he would end up getting tagged out standing up by the Panthers' catcher on a Rob Gillis single.  Second baseman Gillis however would make it home when Kevin Hinton singled with his second hit of the game.

Throughout this game, the Panthers team would continue to show itself to have players who were both tenacious, and who had fantastically alliterative names.  Centerfielder Darnell Duckett doubled to start the bottom of the 4th, and he would come home on a putout by Keith Kandell to make it 5-3 after 4.

Goose eggs in the 5th were followed by another pair of runs by the Leafs in the 6th.  Kevin Hinton continued his monster night with a huge rumbling double, sliding into second to beat the tag.  At age 46, he motors around the bases better than I could at age 26.  Hinton rumbled to third on a passed ball, and came home on a Glenn Jackson single.  As he was greeted by his teammates, Hinton knew what kind of night he was having.  "Triple for the cycle, boys," he said between high fives.  Jackson stole second and went to third on a fielder's choice by shortstop Cody Mombourquette, who was safe at first on an error by  Panthers' shortstop Kandell.  Adam Lentz came on to replace starting pitcher Adam Echlin, but he threw gas on the fire with a wild pitch that plated Jackson. The score was 7-3 Leafs after 6.

Cam Grey came on in relief for Leafs' starter Adam Garner in the 7th and pitched a scoreless inning.

The Leafs' offensive showcase (aka The Kevin Hinton Show) continued in the 8th.  The Panthers brought in their Japanese import, pitcher Daisuke Yasui.  Everyone in the park leaned in for a closer look at his submarine delivery.  Hinton looked at three pitches, then blasted the fourth over the fence in center-right for his second home run.

It was now 8-3 for the Leafs and the feeling around the park was that the Panthers were done.  As the temperature dropped, fans began trickling away, but a few dozen remained to see what happened next. 

Bottom of the 8th, Grey still pitching.  Two singles and a walk and the Panthers had the bases loaded immediately.  Darnell Duckett singled in two runs.  Two more singles would bring in another runner, and a sac fly would plate a fourth.  A walk loaded the bases again and Marek Deska had to come in to try and end this death by a thousand cuts.  Kitchener had done all of this damage with a flurry of singles and walks.  Deska struck out the first batter he faced, bringing a roar from the Leafs' dugout, but he then walked in the tying run - Kitchener's fifth of the inning - and it was 8-8 after 8.  Meltdown in K-town.  The scoreboard blew up for good and stuck on 13-13.

The Leafs would not go quietly and loaded the bases on new pitcher Mike Gatchene, but they couldn't bring anyone home.  Thirdbaseman Tyler Fata struck out to end the threat, then got tossed for arguing balls and strikes.

It seemed inevitable that Kitchener would bring an end to things in the bottom of the 9th.  Momentum had clearly swung their way.  The few remaining fans started taunting the visiting team with reminders of another Maple Leafs team that had suffered a meltdown that week (the hockey Leafs blew a 4-1 lead to lose Game 7 of their playoff series against Boston a few nights before).

Pinch hitter Kaiden Bowers singled, moved to second on a passed ball, moved to third on a passed ball, and trotted home with the winning run on a long flyball by Mike Andrulis that vanished into the darkness in centerfield.

Kitchener completed the comeback to win 9-8.  Deska was tagged with the loss.

One bad turn in Kitchener.  It's up to the boys in blue to get back on course.

The Maple Leafs are now 3-2 and, like the Kitchener Panthers, 1.5 games behind the Brantford Red Sox.  Their next game is against the Burlington Bandits at Christie Pits on May 19.

Game 4: A Royal Pasting - Guelph Royals @ Toronto, May 15

The best way a ball club can respond to a harsh, brutal pasting - like the kind suffered by the Maple Leafs last Sunday - is to lay on a pasting of equal or greater value on the next team it plays.  Sorry Guelph Royals, it was nothing personal.

Whenever I grow tired of this infernal life and its miseries, I go to a ballpark.

Not to immerse myself in sugary-sweet nostalgia for a lost era; nor to wallow in the timeless movements of a 19th century game played without a clock.  Shitty rhapsodizing is best left to folks who want to emulate Bart Giamatti.

(Ooo, look at me all Christopher Hitchens like. Pathetic.)

I go to a ballpark to escape.  That's all it is.

I like the grass and trees, I like the ballplayers, I like the game.

(Ooo, look at me all Walt Whitman now.  Pathetic.)

Anyway, I'm not a sports reporter or photo journalist.  But I like to record things.  So in some dark hour of the winter it seemed it would be a great thing to follow the local nine of the Intercounty Baseball League over the course of their 42-game schedule.  Most home games, some away games, taking photos and notes, mashing them together and throwing the results up here.

I don't work for the Toronto Maple Leafs (does anyone?).  I don't know anyone related to the club, or any of the players, management or sponsors.  I observe silently, and report back here.

[Did a horrendously bad job of it last night, getting shooed away from behind the centerfield fence because my camera light was a distraction, and drawing the attention of the Royals bench, who wondered if I was a scout.  Horrendous.  I need to devise more inconspicuous methods.]

Recap:

For a game that would end in a pasting, this one started off quietly.  Outfielder Raul Borjas reached base on a fielder's choice, then was singled over to third by catcher Will Richards.  A passed ball allowed Borjas to slide home with the game's first run.  After that, however, Royals' starter Chris Nagorski pitched goose eggs until the fifth inning.

On the Maple Leafs' side, starter Brett Lawson was dominant, scattering 2 hits and 1 unearned run over the first five innings.

It was 1-1 going into the bottom of the 5th, when the pitchers' duel ended abruptly.

Nagorski loaded the bases, and through a sequence of hits and errors, 4 runs crossed the plate for Toronto.  Nagorski was done, it was 5-1 after 5, but the onslaught was just beginning.

The Leafs scored 3 more in the 6th, 3 more in the 7th, and 5 more in the 8th.  Third baseman Tyler Fata put an exclamation point on this 16-1 rout by blasting his first home run of the season with a man on.  Fata ended the night with 6 RBIs and the player of the game award.  Every Leafs starter got at least one hit, and almost everyone got an RBI.

Lawson pitched 6 innings for the win, and was relieved by Justin Cicatello and Drew Taylor, who combined for the "3-inning save".

It was a pasting, a royal pasting.  Some credit goes out to the Royals bench, which was lively all night, even at the top of the ninth when one player shouted: "C'mon boys, 15 to get!  Let's go!"  Good gallows humour at least.

The Leafs are now 3-1, 1 game behind the still-undefeated Brantford Red Sox.  Their next game is Thursday May 16 in Kitchener.