There are many legends about the mythical Roman hero Hercules.
In one of them, he was asked to go to the lakeside city of Stymphalos, where an enormous flock of ferocious birds was terrorizing the local people.
Hercules rolled into town with an assortment of weapons, including a kind of thunderstick that he used to drive the birds out of the trees. Once they were in flight, Hercules used his bow and arrows to shoot and kill the birds, ending their reign of terror. The liberated locals cheered and sang in joy.
This story was re-enacted in the lakeside city of Hamilton last night, when Sean Reilly and the Toronto Maple Leafs rolled into town. Reilly used his bat to blast two thunderous home runs and four RBIs in a 12-10 victory over the Cardinals. The stunned locals muttered and groaned in despair.
That's my Humanities education, validated.
It wasn't me who came up with the Hercules comparison. I was sitting in the cheery red grandstand seats at Bernie Arbour Stadium last night. Behind me sat some oldtimers who made oldtimer-style comments as they watched the game. When Reilly came up to the plate in the 1st inning, they leaned forward, rasping right in my ears.
"Here comes Hercules."
"Look at the size of him."
"He's got the Bambino's number, old number 3."
Reilly's legend precedes him in every ballpark, it seems. While his bat led the scoring assault, his teammates put in another great collective effort to stave off a late comeback attempt and seal the win.
Great catches were made all over the field by Sean Mattson, Branfy Arias and Damon Topolie, and a sliding catch by Glenn Jackson in centerfield ended the game in style.
It's clear now that for this Leafs team to keep winning, they will have to outslug their opponents and hope that the pitching gives up fewer runs. Last night, the strategy worked - only just. Rick Brooks, Troy Marks and Jas Shergill did well enough to keep the Cards in check, and Justin Cicatello delivered an epic three-inning save.
Once again this summer, the Leafs demonstrated their ability to bounce back after a soul-destroying defeat. Their next challenge is to do something that they haven't done in three weeks, and that is: win two games in a row. Surely no Herculean task?
Recap:
After two quick, scoreless innings of play, the Toronto Maple Leafs roared into the lead in the top of the 3rd. Singles by rightfielder Raul Borjas and first baseman Jon Waltenbury were followed by a colossal 3-run wallop by DH Sean Reilly. Singles by third baseman Sean Mattson and leftfielder Rob Gillis were followed by catcher Damon Topolie being hit by a pitch from rattled Hamilton Cardinals starter Mike Elwood. Bases loaded. Second baseman Dan Marra hit a sacrifice fly that scored Mattson, and then Glenn Jackson belted a 3-run screamer over the right field fence to make it 7-0 Leafs.
The Cards responded with a 2-run homer by leftfielder Kyle Gappa and it was 7-2 after three innings of play.
Reilly returned to the plate in the top of the 4th, and knocked a solo home run. The locals "oooed" and "aaahed" at the display of power. On the mound, Elwood was running out of steam. He walked Mattson, who worked his way to third on a single by shortstop Branfy Arias coupled with a fielding error. Mattson made it home on a passed ball, and Elwood's night was pretty much done. 9-2 Leafs.
Toronto starter Rick Brooks' night was also done in the 4th. He gave up three walks and three hits, including a 3-run home run by centerfielder Andris Rizquez. After the homer, Hamilton went walk, walk, single, followed by a bases-inning walk that brought in another run. Brooks followed that by hitting the next batter up and bringing in another run. He was relieved by newcomer Troy Marks, who got two quick outs to end the home rally. It was 9-7 after the 4th.
Both teams added two runs to their tallies in the 7th. Topolie legged out a double to deep center, despite pulling up clutching his right hammy as he approached first base. After some treatment, Topolie stayed in the game. He moved to third on a passed ball, then scored on a single by Borjas. A sac fly by Waltenbury made it 11-7 for the Leafs.
For Hamilton, they jumped on reliever Jas Shergill, who started the top of the 7th but didn't have his good stuff. He gave up a single and a walk, with a wild pitch and passed ball in the mix. The Cardinals scored a run and Shergill was relieved by Justin Cicatello without recording an out. It now fell upon Cicatello to try for an epic three-inning save. He got the Cards to ground into a huge double play. Another run scored in the process, but Hamilton's momentum was halted. Cicatello got out of the inning and the Leafs still had an 11-9 lead.
In the bottom of the 8th, Kyle Gappa hit his second homer of the game. It was a leadoff solo shot that brought the Cards to within one run. It was 11-10 and the Leafs were hanging on by Cicatello's fingernails.
The Leafs got the run back in the top of the 9th, as Marra doubled and Waltenbury drove him in with a single. The 12-10 score held up as Cicatello got the final three outs in order for the epic save. Marks got the win in his first appearance with the team, and Toronto was back in the W column.
The Leafs are now 11-14, holding steady in fifth place and 11 games behind the league leading Brantford Red Sox. Their next game is at Christie Pits on July 7, against the Burlington Bandits.
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