Cardinals win 6-3
The end of the 2014 regular season was a tense affair for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
You may recall these pages being choked with tension and anxiety as the Leafs battled unsuccessfully to avoid playing in the one-game-wild-card-playoff-of-doom... which they ended up playing in... and losing... and the winter was longer and colder because of it.
However, the IBL changed its post-season format so that everybody makes the playoffs now. Hurray! Everybody on the playoff bus! Even you, stinky Guelph Royals, with your 4-31 record. Hurray!
So with everybody playoff bound, the Leafs visited the Hamilton Cardinals last night to play a re-rescheduled rainout game to end the regular season. With seventh place already clinched by the Cards, and the Leafs playing to decide the fifth and sixth places, some observers may have expected a casual affair between two friendly clubs.
The hell you say. All night long, balls were smashed, bats slammed, helmets thrown and f-bombs launched across the park. The competitive fires burned hot.
The mood of the night was best demonstrated by acting manager Damon Topolie (above). On a sacrifice bunt play in the 7th inning, a poor call resulted in catcher Brendan Keys being charged with a phantom error, allowing the batter and a baserunner to both advance safely. After an umpires' conference, the play stood as called. Topolie argued his case unsuccessfully, then blew up, tore a strip off the home plate umpire and stormed off the field, cursing Hamilton, its residents and its founders. That was how it sounded anyway.
The Leafs had gotten off to a booming start, with home runs from Johnathan Solazzo and Tyler Mitchell in the second inning. The Cards scratched their way back to tie the game, then take the lead. It was a scrappy contest.
Mitchell's home run was his first of the season. Keys had also hit his first the night before. That left Connor Lewis and Grant Tamane as the only active regulars without a round tripper this season. In the fifth inning, Lewis hit a roaring triple that Hamilton almost misplayed into an inside-the-park home run. Tamane came tantalizingly close yesterday at the Pits, and again at Bernie Arbour Stadium, but both his shots were caught just short of the fences.
With no home runs at the end of the regular season, Lewis and Tamane's chances of blasting a postseason walkoff just spiked astronomically. Baseball has a way of balancing things out. To this day, fans of the Boston Red Sox curse the name of Bucky Bleeping Dent, the same way that fans of the Brantford Red Sox might soon curse the name of Grant Bleeping Tamane or Connor Bleeping Lewis.
These are the kinds of charming visions that get conjured up when one does one's writing while sipping a lager and grapefruit concoction out of a can after midnight. (I know! I drink the worst beers!)
Anyway, the Cardinals won the game 6-3.
Game Recap:
To close out the regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs visited the Hamilton Cardinals to finally play a game that had been rained out twice before. Adam Prashad took to the mound for the home side, while Justin Lawrence made the start for Toronto.
After swapping scoreless halfs of the first inning, the Leafs got on the board first. First baseman Johnathan Solazzo and third baseman Tyler Mitchell each hit a solo home run off Prashad to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead after the top of the 2nd inning.
Hamilton got one back right away. GH Jonathan Palumbo doubled off Lawrence, then advanced to third on a putout. He scored when leftfielder Kyle Gappa hit into a fielder's choice and it was 2-1 Leafs after two.
The Cards tied it up in the bottom of the third. Second baseman Marcus Dicenzo walked, then moved to second on a single by catcher Joel Brophy. A single by rightfielder Dre Celestijn drove in Dicenzo and it was all tied up at two after the 3rd inning.
Hamilton kept plugging away as first baseman Adam Shaver doubled to lead off the 4th. A single by shortstop Chris Beer drove him in, and then a double by Gappa drove in Beer. 4-2 Cardinals through four.
Toronto got one back in the 6th. Tanner Guindon relieved Prashad, and faced DH Jon Waltenbury to lead off. Waltenbury banged a ground rule double that bounced over the fence in deep centerfield. He advanced to third on a putout by leftfielder Raul Borjas, and scored on a single by Solazzo. 4-3 Cardinals after six.
Hamilton third baseman Liam Wilson was hit by a pitch from Lawrence to start the bottom of the 7th. A sac bunt attempt by Dicenzo rolled foul, but the umpire ruled that catcher Brendan Keys had touched the ball while it was still in fair territory. The Leafs protested and the umpires gathered to discuss the matter. The ruling was upheld, Dicenzo was safe at first, and Wilson moved up to second. Acting manager Damon Topolie voiced his displeasure at the ruling, but remained in the game. The play would prove fateful. A single by Brophy loaded the bases, and then a wild pitch by Lawrence allowed Wilson to race home with an insurance run for Hamilton, who led 5-3 through seven.
TJ Baker, who had relieved Guindon to start the seventh, kept the Leafs off the board in the top of the 8th.
In the bottom of the frame, Lawrence gave up singles to Beer and Gappa, then centerfielder Jake Osborne reached first safely on a fielding error charged to second baseman Dan Marra. With the bases loaded Christian Botnick came in to pitch. A single by Wilson drove in Beer, but then Botnick was able to induce two straight forceouts at home, and a forceout at third to end the inning with no further damage. The Cardinals lead was 6-3 after the 8th inning.
Keys hit a single in the 9th inning, but that was all the Leafs could muster as Baker pitched his third straight scoreless inning to preserve the 6-3 final for Hamilton and grab a save for himself.
Toronto 3-9-3
Hamilton 6-11-1
W - Prashad (3-2, 4.76)
L - Lawrence (0-1, 8.77)
S - Baker (1)
BOXSCORE
The Maple Leafs end the 2015 regular season with a record of 15-21, and they finish in 6th place in the standings. The Burlington Bandits edge them out of 5th place on the strength of their head-to-head season record.
The Mapes will face the Brantford Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs. The post-season schedule will be shared when it becomes available.
No comments:
Post a Comment