A baseball game is made up of hundreds of singular moments that impact its outcome.
Some are mundane - a routine fly, a pitch called for a ball. Others are critical. The Toronto Maple Leafs ended up on the wrong side of several critical plays last night in Game Three of their opening round playoff series against the Kitchener Panthers. These singular moments combined to let the game get away from them, and put Kitchener ahead 2-1 in the series.
The Leafs got off to a great start at Jack Couch Park. They tagged Kitchener starter Shaun Hancock with four solid hits in a row in the first inning to score three runs. Kolossal! Hancock was on the ropes early, and walked the next two batters to load the bases. Toronto threatened to put the game away before it even began, but Hancock got a critical strikeout to end the inning.
That turned out to be the only big inning for the Leafs all game. Hancock settled down and the Leafs' bats went as cold as this chilly evening in Sausageland. Hancock held the Leafs scoreless all the way to the 7th inning, when they finally put another run on the board.
Marek Deska pitched just as well last night. He gave up two runs in the 1st inning, but also settled down until the bottom of the 5th, when Bryon Bell hit a first-pitch solo home run to tie the score.
After the Leafs retook the lead in the 7th inning, they loaded the bases again, but Kitchener managed to wriggle out of it and three men were left on base. Another missed opportunity to put them away.
Kitchener immediately responded with three runs in the bottom of the 7th, as this see-saw battle threatened to come down to a single play. And it did. With two out in the 9th inning, the Leafs were down 6-5 with a man on third. Dan Marra hit what looked like a game-tying single to shallow right field, but it was fielded brilliantly by Panthers second baseman Mike Andrulis, who made the throw to first just in time to make the final out. The Leafs could have won this game and several times it looked like they would, but it was one that got away.
So many singular moments that didn't go the Leafs way, and now they are down two games to one. What looked like it might be a short series now looks like it will be a grudge match between two evenly-matched teams. After two blowouts, each club has gotten a sense for the other. Each of the remaining games could come down to a single play - a singular moment that will determine if the Leafs continue on in the playoffs or not.
Recap:
The Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to an early lead against the Kitchener Panthers in this one. Starter Shaun Hancock gave up four hits in a row: a single to first baseman Jon Waltenbury, a home run to DH Sean Reilly, a single that rightfielder Raul Borjas legged all the way to third base with the help of a fielding error, and a double to third baseman Sean Mattson. All with two outs. The Leafs were up 3-0, and a pair of walks loaded the bases, but Hancock struck out leftfielder Justin Gianfrancesco to end the threat.
Kitchener replied with a solo home run by second baseman Mike Andrulis leading off the bottom of the frame. A sac fly by centerfielder Tanner Nivins made it 3-2 Leafs after one inning of play.
Hancock and Leafs starter Marek Deska began trading scoreless innings Both teams went down in order in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings, with a single in the 3rd by Reilly being the only disruption to the pattern.
The Panthers got another leadoff home run, this time in the bottom of the 5th by DH Bryon Bell. That tied the game at three.
The Leafs loaded the bases in the top of the 7th. Shortstop Branfy Arias was hit by a pitch, Waltenbury drew a walk, then Reilly was intentionally walked. A sac fly by Borjas scored Arias to make it 4-3. A single by Mattson loaded the bases and ended Hancock's night, but reliever Matt Robertson got out of the inning with no further damage.
The Panthers took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the 7th. A leadoff triple by rightfielder Darnell Duckett was followed by an RBI single by shortstop Mike Glinka. The Panthers then loaded the bases and Deska was relieved by Franco Pace. The next man up was Nivins, who drove in two runs with a single to centerfield. 6-4 Panthers after the 7th.
Bell came in to pitch in the top of the 9th inning, but he gave up two walks and quickly got the hook. He was relieved by Marcos Reyna. The Leafs managed to squeeze one run out of the Panthers to make it a 6-5 score, but that was how it ended as Andrulis fielded what would have been a game-tying single by second baseman Dan Marra and threw to first to end the game.
The Leafs are down 2-1 in this opening round playoff series, and will have a chance to tie it up tonight in Game Four at Christie Pits.
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