Majors win 13-6
Comes the sun, come the homers.
Up to this point in the 2017 IBL season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had half of their regular season schedule rained out. They managed to get in one home game earlier this month, in what turned out to be a mind-altering 18-inning Mother's Day marathon where all the rules were broken. Spectators who sat through the entire 4 hours and 45 minutes would be forgiven if their brains had turned to compost by the end of that one.
Today's rain-free, nine inning matchup with the London Majors was a welcome return to normality.
On the subject of welcomes, Tyler Hardie introduced himself to the fans at Christie Pits by smashing two home runs and four RBIs this afternoon.
Toronto's new first baseman was joined in the home run parade by catcher Justin Marra, who knocked his first of the year.
The Leafs racked up six runs in what turned out to be a losing effort against the Majors, who took an early lead and cruised to a 13-6 win.
Andrew Simonetti made his first start on the mound for the Leafs. He gave up a three spot in the first inning, and three more in the fourth. His ERA remains a sexy 1.12 because only one of those runs were earned. All told, the Leafs racked up seven errors on the day. Brutal.
The errors came early for Toronto, as London leadoff man Chris McQueen reached on the second pitch of the game, a grounder that was misplayed at short. A double by Keith Kandel scored McQueen and the Majors were off to the races.
Simonetti battled through four innings before handing the ball to Nate Morris, down 6-0. Morris pitched two innings, during which London scored two more unearned runs. Errors. Brutal.
Bottom of the seventh, 8-0 London. Justin Marra led off the inning with a solo home run. Hardie followed with a solo blast of his own. Second baseman Dan Marra singled. Shortstop Ryan White reached on an error, and then centerfielder Connor Lewis plated Marra with a single. 8-3 London through seven.
Toronto made it interesting in the bottom of the eighth. Trailing 9-3, they put two men aboard and Hardie launched his second home run of the game, making it a 9-6 game.
A miracle comeback was not in the cards today. The Majors tacked on four more runs in their half of the ninth for a 13-6 final, improving their record to 6-0 to start the season. Starter Luis Sanchez pitched 6 2/3 innings for the visitors and got his third win of the year. Simonetti got stuck with the loss for the home side.
Losing sucks, but it was good news for folks on the Christie hillside, as a new home run threat has become part of the team. Hello, Hardie!
W - Sanchez (3-0, 3.70)
L - Simonetti (0-1, 1.12)
BOXSCORE
Following the loss, the Leafs are 3-2 in the month of May, good for 4th place in the IBL Standings. Their homestand continues with a night game this Wednesday. They will host the Hamilton Cardinals at Christie Pits on May 31 with first pitch scheduled for 7:30.
No comments:
Post a Comment