Maple Leafs @ Kitchener, August 10 (Round 1, Game 1)
The Toronto Maple Leafs unloaded a barrage of metaphors at Jack Couch Park last night.
They tipped the apple cart, they broke serve, they caged the black cats. Most importantly, they bombed Berlin with five home runs en route to a 16-10 victory in Game One of their opening round playoff series.
Temperatures dropped soon after the sun set, but the Leafs stayed hot all night. Eight different men in the order got at least one RBI. Glenn Jackson led the way with three hits and five ribbies. Sean Reilly got three hits including two home runs. Jon Waltenbury, Sean Mattson and Rob Gillis also homered.
On the mound, Troy Marks and Jas Shergill combined to keep the Kitchener Panthers from clawing their way back into the game.
The Leafs team that was assembled over the course of the season may have struggled to reach .500, but they had the look of a playoffs monster last night. Their tactics were simple:
1) beat the tar out of Kitchener's pitchers
2) don't get outscored
3) smile for the cameras
Kitchener's fans, usually a raucous bunch, sat on their hands most of the night, shaking their heads and muttering to each other. They started trickling out of the park after a devastating 9-run fifth inning for Toronto. The trickle became a mass exodus after the evening's 50-50 draw. Fate added insult to injury when the name of the draw winner was announced: it was out-of-town visitor Jack Dominico, incidentally, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club.
And so, a statement has been made. The Maple Leafs have come out swinging hard. The Panthers took it on the chin and were not able to battle back. If the scene is replayed again this afternoon at Christie Pits, the Leafs will be off to a huge early advantage in this series.
Recap:
Matt McGovern of the Kitchener Panthers and Troy Marks of the Toronto Maple Leafs traded scoreless innings to start the game.
The Leafs got on the board first. In the top of the 2nd inning, McGovern gave up singles to leftfielder Raul Borjas and third baseman Sean Mattson. Catcher Damon Topolie followed with a single into centerfield that brought Borjas home. 1-0 Leafs.
The Panthers replied in the bottom of the inning. Centerfielder Tanner Nivins and third baseman Mat Taube singled, then catcher Rick Murray engaged in a long battle with Marks. On a full count, he hit his seventh pitch from Marks deep over the centerfield fence. Even though the ball was hit quietly, Glenn Jackson knew it was gone. 3-1 Panthers after the 2nd.
Both teams went down in order in the 3rd, creating an impression that this game might be a fast-moving pitchers' duel.
The impression was soon proved false. The Leafs got to McGovern again in the next inning. DH Sean Reilly and rightfielder Rob Gillis hit solo home runs, and Mattson added a two-run blast to put the Leafs back ahead 5-3.
The Panthers immediately reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the 4th. Nivins led off with a walk and stolen base, then got driven in by Taube. DH Bryon Bell then knocked one to right field and galloped all the way for a triple, scoring Taube. Bell then scored on a sac fly by Murray. 6-5 Panthers after 4 innings.
It was as if the Leafs decided to stop pussyfooting around at that point. They unleashed the fury of a million suns on Panthers pitching in the top of the 5th. When it was over and done, 13 men had come to the plate, and the Leafs had knocked both McGovern and his replacemen Shaun Slemko out of the game. They had scored nine runs on five hits and two errors. Reilly and first baseman Waltenbury hit home runs. Jackson hit a three-run triple. The game was blown open and the Leafs were ahead 14-6.
The shellshocked Panthers could not reply, as Marks put them down in order in the bottom of the 5th.
Jackson added a two-run double in the 6th to make it 16-6.
Shortstop Mike Glinka responded with a two-run double that made it 16-8 after 6 innings.
Marks was relieved by Jas Shergill, who nailed down the three-inning save to close out the game. Shergill gave up two runs in the 7th, but that would be all as the Leafs won a 16-10 final.
The Maple Leafs are off to a 1-0 lead in this series, and the action resumes at Christie Pits this afternoon.
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