Baycats win 3-2
One week after splitting a home-and-home series, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Barrie Baycats went at it again last night at Christie Pits.
As a bright sunset led to a cool night, Toronto starter Dillan Mulholland (above) went seven innings, giving up three runs (only one earned) while striking out five. Super LOOGY Dan Zlotnick pitched the final two, mowing down five out of seven batters he faced. On the Barrie side of the mound, Santos Arias, Chris England and Brett Lawson each pitched three innings and limited the Leafs to just two runs.
From what I see online and hear at the park, there seems to be a growing dissatisfaction with the quality of umpiring lately. Members of both clubs voiced their opinions about bad calls that went against them, but the umps at last night's game didn't seem to want to spend much time arguing.
Who knows, it may just be frustration on the players' part. In the ninth inning I watched one Barrie batter -- whose last name rhymes with Fata -- take a pitch that tickled his shoelaces but was called strike three. He returned to the bench silently. The next man up -- who shares a last name with Reggie Jackson -- also got punched out. Jackson hurled first his bat then his helmet at the backstop. Immediate ejection, umps shooing everyone back to the bench, no arguments please. Really, it wasn't that cold tonight gentlemen.
Anyway, the Leafs tallied up seven hits against the trio of Baycat hurlers, but they couldn't string enough of them together in the same inning. Dan Marra and Jon Waltenbury both homered, but they were solo shots. Neither team had a Big Inning tonight, and ultimately the Leafs ended up getting nipped for a 3-2 loss.
Game Recap:
Dillan Mulholland got the start for the Maple Leafs and faced off against Santos Arias of the Baycats. Each pitcher threw a scoreless 1st inning.
Barrie got on the board first. Leftfielder Steve Lewis doubled to lead off the 2nd inning, advanced to third on a groundout by shortstop Branfy Arias, and scored on a single by second baseman Tyler Fata. 1-0 Baycats after two innings.
The visitors extended their lead in the 3rd. Catcher Kyle DeGrace walked and stole second, then advanced to third on an error by his Toronto counterpart Brendan Keys. A single by third baseman Kevin Atkinson scored DeGrace. A wild pitch allowed Atkinson to move to second base, and a single by Lewis brought him in home. 3-0 Baycats
In the bottom of the 3rd, Dan Marra hit a leadoff home run off Arias that made it 3-1 Baycats.
The Leafs scored another run off the bat of right fielder Jon Waltenbury, who sent a Chris England pitch soaring over the snack bar beyond centerfield. Tape Measure Blast! 3-2 Baycats after the 4th inning.
The home side scattered a few more hits over the second half of the game, but were unable to draw level or take the lead. It came down to the bottom of the 9th. Leftfielder Raul Borjas singled off Brett Lawson and Marra followed with his second hit of the game -- a single that put two men aboard. But a comebacker to Lawson by DH Damon Topolie brought the threat to an end as Lawson tossed it to first for the final out.
Barrie 3-8-0
Toronto 2-7-1
W - England (1-0)
L - Mulholland (1-1)
S - Lawson (1)
BOXSCORE
The Maple Leafs dip below .500 with a 4-5 record. They remain in 5th place in the standings, 3.5 games back of the London Majors. The Hamilton Cardinals are just a couple of games behind the Leafs, who will travel there this Friday, June 5 to take on the Cardinals high up on The Mountain.
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