The Toronto Maple Leafs got their you-know-whats handed to them this afternoon at Christie Pits, losing 12-2 to the Guelph Royals.
Royals' second baseman Josh Garton had himself a day. Garton hit 20 home runs, he got a thousand RBIs, and he climbed up the big tree on the Christie hillside to rescue a kitten midway through the game.
Okay, the kitten is a fabrication, but the rest is more or less accurate.
While Garton was pounding Leafs' pitching (4-for-5 with two HRs and 6 RBIs), Guelph starter Gavin Free held the Leafs to just one run over seven innings while striking out eight.
The home side scraped together two runs off the bats of Dan Marra (RBI single) and Raul Borjas (solo HR).
It was a beatdown that was as dispiriting as the gloomy clouds that hung over the Pits all afternoon.
The Leafs are now mired in a four game losing streak. It sucks. The players know it, the fans know it. All around the Pits, everyone was quieter than usual today. Even the Owner was subdued, his voice mostly unheard from high above.
The Leafs' run totals in each of the four games of this skid have been: 8, 5, 3 and 2. They are due for a big game. I'm guessing they will probably explode for double digit runs in their next game at Burlington.
Either that, or they'll get no-hit...
Game Recap:
The Guelph Royals opened today's game by scoring off of Sunday starter Marek Deska in the 1st inning. Left fielder Bruce Yari tagged Deska for a solo home run to put the Royals on the board.
Guelph added to their lead in the 3rd inning, off the bat of second baseman Josh Garton, who blasted a 3-run homer over the centerfield fence to make it 4-0.
The Maple Leafs got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd. Catcher Tony Alvarez raced to first on a dropped third strike. Alvarez was out on a fielder's choice that put right fielder Darryl Pui on first. Centerfielder Glenn Jackson reached first on an error, and Pui moved over to third. Pui then scored on a single by second baseman Dan Marra. 4-1 Royals after the 3rd.
In the 5th inning, Yari and Garton struck again with a pair of doubles. Garton drove in Yari and also drove Deska from the game. Christian Botnick came on in relief. 5-1 Royals after the 5th.
The Royals added another run in the 6th. Catcher Patrick Coughlin singled, moved to second on a HBP, then moved to third on a groundout. A hit by shortstop Keith Kandel was played for an error by Marra, allowing Coughlin to score the unearned run. 6-1 Royals after the 6th.
Garton led off the 7th with a solo home run off reliever Jake Hines. Christian Botter then came in and got knocked around for three more runs. 10-1 Royals after the 7th.
Garton continued his assault on Leafs' pitching in the 8th, this time hitting an RBI double off Justin Lawrence. Garton came around to score on a double by first baseman Jonathan Palumbo. 12-1 Royals after the 8th.
Left fielder Raul Borjas put one more run on the board for the Leafs with a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th. But that would be all as Guelph went on to win a 12-2 final and sweep this weekend's home-and-home series.
Guelph 12-14-1
Toronto 2-9-2
W - Free (2-1)
L - Deska (2-2)
BOXSCORE
The Maple Leafs are now 6-7 and have slipped to fourth place in the standings, 4.5 games behind the Barrie Baycats. Their next game is on the road against the Burlington Bandits on June 12.
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