The Toronto Maple Leafs launched a devastating scoring assault against the Hamilton Cardinals last night at Christie Pits.
The Leafs rocked the visiting team's pitchers for 16 hits and 7 runs and continued to put runs on the board in a big way, as they have been all this week. The Swingin' Seans - Reilly and Mattson - each blasted a 2-run home run. Those were the exclamation points on a night when every Leafs batter but one got a hit, and most of them got two or more. Truly an awesome display of power.
Hamilton scored 15 runs.
These are the hardest games to write about. It was mostly shit. The Leafs had a shit game. My photos were shit. This write up? It will probably be shit too.
Everything was slightly off last night. The pitching was off. The hitting was off. Sure the Leafs scored runs, but the Cardinals scored twice as many, plus one. I couldn't stay still for the entire game. Maybe it was the heat, or the mosquitos, or some deep rooted inner dread that made things unsettled. I moved around the park so much it made the ADHD people nervous. Maybe all the crazies at the park are getting to me. Maybe I am becoming one of them.
Let's skip the inner reflection for now. The Leafs are on the road in Barrie this evening. Will their inconsistent season continue with an upswing and a big win? We will find out a few hours from now.
Recap:
The Maple Leafs got off to a booming start in the 1st inning, as first baseman Sean Reilly hit a two-run home run off Cardinals starter Matt Martinow. That was followed by an RBI single by catcher Damon Topolie that scored third baseman Sean Mattson, who singled earlier. In all, the Leafs got five hits and three runs to start the game.
Leafs starter Marek Deska cruised through the first couple of innings without giving up a hit, but then the Hamilton barrage began. Deska gave up three hits in the 3rd inning, including a 3-run blast by Cardinals centerfielder Andris Rizquez that cleared the trees beyond the left field fence.
The Leafs got one back in the bottom of the 3rd. Mattson doubled and was driven home on a single by centerfielder Cody Mombourquette. It was 4-3 after 3 and the Leafs were looking lively.
But the Cards kept coming. Catcher Zack Sardellitti singled and went to second on an error by shortstop Branfy Arias. Second baseman Chris Beer singled and sent Sardellitti to third. Deska then walked third baseman Johnathan Solazzo to load the bases. The dam burst on the next at bat. Shortstop Michael Gottschalk singled past the middle infielders to score Sardellitti. The throw back in was fielded by Deska, who tried to nail the advancing runner Beer at third. The throw was too high over Mattson, and Beer rounded for home. When it was all over, Gottschalk was on second base, Solazzo was on third, and two runs had been scored. Shit hit the fan. Solazzo and Gottschalk both ended up scoring in an inning that saw costly errors hand the Cardinals a 7-4 lead.
The Cards piled it on in the top of the 5th. DH Daniel Jagdeo led off with a home run to right that was high enough and no-doubt enough that rightfielder Jon Waltenbury didn't even flinch. Deska hit the next batter, then gave up another single before being relieved by Drew Taylor. Unfortunately Taylor wasn't able to halt the barrage. He gave up a three-run homer to Solazzo and an RBI single to Rizquez. It was 12-4 Hamilton after the 5th inning.
A scoreless sixth led to another rough inning for the Leafs, this time with Cam Grey on the mound. A single, walk and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, then Salazzo scored (for the fourth time) on a wild pitch. A walk loaded the bases again, and Grey walked in another run to make it 14-4 going into the bottom of the 7th.
The Leafs' bats reawakened in the bottom of the frame as Ryan Van Spronsen came on in relief of Martinow. The two Seans teamed up, with Reilly hitting a single and Mattson hitting a home run. For Mattson, it was his second homer in two games. If there was such a thing as home run fireworks at the Pits, Mattson would have earned himself the nickname "The Detonator" this week. Leftfielder Glenn Jackson added another run with an RBI single that made it 14-7 after 7 innings.
Solazzo put one more run on the board with an RBI single in the 8th. The Leafs could not get anything else going and the game ended 15-7. The Leafs are finally scoring, but they have traded away three pitchers in recent weeks, and the lack of arms might be hurting them now.
Toronto's loss drops them to 8-12, and they have slipped below the Cardinals into sixth place, 10.5 games behind the Brantford Red Sox. Their next game is later today, on the road at the Barrie Baycats.
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