After all these weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs may have finally hit upon the magic formula: become Masters of the Unexpected.
Last Saturday in Burlington, the team's closer pitched a complete game win.
On Sunday at Christie Pits, two of the team's sluggers launched an assault on the IBL single season home run record.
Last night, the Maple Leafs took to the field in Brantford's Arnold Anderson Stadium with a lineup that looked more spontaneous than strategic. Rob Gillis at catcher. Jon Waltenbury at second base. As far as I know, neither of them has played that position this season. With several players injured or absent from recent games, it's this spontaneity that seems to have kicked the team into a higher gear.
Overall the starting pitching has improved of late. Newcomer Troy Marks has become the workhorse of the team in place of some arms that were traded away, or are not available at the moment. (Marek Deska is currently pitching for Team Polska at the qualifiers of the European Baseball Championships.)
Marks pitched another gem last night and shut down the Brantford Red Sox scoring machine. Over seven innings, he allowed only two earned runs while striking out eight.
On the other side, the Maple Leafs pulled a Brantford on Brantford. They jumped ahead early and knocked several Red Sox pitchers around including starter Jamie Richmond. As the runs piled up, one frustrated Brantford pitcher after another dropped F-bombs for the whole park to hear. Family entertainment!
Meanwhile, Toronto performance artist Glenn Jackson got under the skins of local fans who are not accustomed to losing, and who were getting crabbier by the inning. All game long, he traded barbs, flashed some moves, and got a rise out of onlookers by making gestures that some might describe as "wildly inappropriate." Family entertainment!
Shit, though - shit like this - it's fun to watch.
The Leafs beat the Red Sox 10-5 by getting men on base, moving 'em over, and driving 'em in without hitting a single home run. Who saw that coming?
From one game to the next, we can't predict what will happen anymore. We can't even predict the lineup. The Leafs are throwing everybody off, and heating things up at just the right time.
Recap:
Two of the IBL's ace pitchers faced off in Brantford, as Jamie Richmond and the Red Sox hosted Troy Marks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs got the jump on Richmond in the 1st inning. Centerfielder Glenn Jackson led off with a double, and Jon Waltenbury followed with a triple to cash in the first run of the game.
Jackson led off the 3rd inning as well, and singled to start things off. Singles by leftfielder Raul Borjas and first baseman Sean Reilly followed, loading up the bases. Another single, this time by catcher Rob Gillis, allowed both Jackson and Borjas to score. 3-0 Leafs halfway through the 3rd.
Marks gave up his first hit of the game in the bottom of the 3rd, a single to centerfielder Joe Colameco. Colameco then stole second during the at bat that eventually saw catcher Wayne Forman draw a walk. A baserunning error then cost the Red Sox. Colameco and Forman both started running on a pitch that saw second baseman Jeff Hunt strike out. Colameco suddenly pulled up and started to return to second - only to see Forman arriving there. Gillis threw to third baseman Sean Mattson, who applied the tag on Colameco. Left fielder Josh McCurdy ensured that the inning was not wasted, when he hit a shot that shortstop Dan Marra misplayed for an error. Forman scored on the play, and it was 3-1 Leafs after the 3rd inning.
Marra made up for his error by leading off the next inning with a single. A single by Jackson advanced Marra to third, and a single by Borjas brought Marra in to score. With Jackson now on third, a sac fly by second baseman Jon Waltenbury brought him in too. 5-1 Leafs after 4 innings.
The Red Sox got a run back in the bottom of the 5th. McCurdy walked and stole second. Third baseman Hyung Cho then drove him in with a single. 5-2 Leafs.
The Leafs got that run right back in the next inning. Brandon Huffman relieved Richmond to start the inning. He gave up a double to Borjas, hit Reilly with a pitch, then gave up another double to Mattson. Borjas scored, Brantford's coach and trainer came out to the mound, and Huffman came out of the game nursing what appeared to be an injury. Adam Kudryk came in to finish the inning. 6-2 Leafs.
The Red Sox kept it close in the bottom of the 6th, scoring a run without getting a hit. Marks walked rightfielder Jason Gotwalt, who then stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. A sac fly by Forman brought Gotwalt in to score and it was 6-3 after the 6th inning.
The Leafs blew the game open for good in the 7th. Marra walked to start the inning, then Jackson doubled. Marra scored on a passed ball, then an error at first base allowed Borjas to reach safely as Jackson scored. Two more runs on the board, and another Brantford pitcher left the game spewing curses. Adam Arnold came in next, but he was unable to stop the Leafs' momentum, as Gillis and DH Kevin Hinton hit singles and ran the score up to 10-3.
Meanwhile, Marks pitched another hitless, scoreless inning to run his line to 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 8 K.
Franco Pace started the 8th inning for Toronto. He gave up an RBI single to Gotwalt and loaded the bases before Justin Cicatello came in to shut things down. 10-4 Leafs after the 8th.
Jas Shergill came on in the 9th and also gave up one run before the Red Sox ran out of outs, and the game ended 10-5 in the visitors' favour. By then, it was past midnight. For reasons unknown, the Red Sox start their games later than any other club. This one didn't get going until well after 8:00 p.m. On a cool evening, fans had started trickling out after each run scored by Toronto, and there was a full-on exodus after the 50-50 draw in the 7th. There were few people left in the stadium to see the final out, but the familiar assortment of Toronto boosters on hand didn't mind.
The Maple Leafs are now 16-18 and in fifth place, 13 games behind these Red Sox. Their next game is in London on July 26 against the London Majors.
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