The Cleveland Show

Game 35: London Majors at Toronto Maple Leafs, July 29, 2018

Majors win 13-4

One home run from Cleveland Brownlee was almost expected.

Two home runs from Cleveland Brownlee was deflating.

Three home runs from Cleveland Brownlee, the last of which was a grand slam that capped off a four hit, eight RBI day...

CLEVELAND BROWNLEE CAN YOU CHILL?

The London Majors slugger went yard on three different pitchers yesterday and led his team to a 13-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Christie Pits.

The demolition began in the first inning, when Brownlee hit a two-run homer off Leafs starter Will Newton. By the time Newton battled his way out of the inning, the Majors had taken a 4-0 lead.

The Leafs responded immediately and loaded the bases. Catcher Garrett Takamatsu then stepped in against starter Starlin Peralta, and drove in a run on a fielder's choice. That made it 4-1 Majors after one.

Zach Sloan relieved Newton in the second inning, and London tacked on one more run via a wild pitch. It was 5-1 Majors through two.

A quiet third inning gave way to a furious fourth. R.J. Fuhr singled to lead off the top of the inning. He then stole second on a close call that prompted some grumbles around the Pits. The grumbles grew louder after a balk was called on Sloan. The Leafs complained and the umpires gathered for a chat, but the call was upheld and Fuhr moved to third base. He then scored on a sac fly by Keith Kandel to make it a 6-1 ballgame.

Rightfielder Zac Orchard led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run that made it 6-2. The Leafs threatened to make it an even bigger inning, but bad umpiring struck again. Centerfielder Connor Lewis singled right after Orchard and moved to second on a passed ball. He moved to third on a groundout, then raced home when another pitch made its way to the backstop. Lewis slid headfirst and appeared to be safely across the plate before a tag was applied by Peralta -- but he was called out. Leafs players and coaches exploded in disbelief, more vociferously than usual, which is always a sign that the ump has blown an easy call. A couple of coaches spoke with the home plate ump, but the call stood and the Leafs' rally ended.

London stretched their lead in the top of the third. Brownlee hit another two-run homer, this time off Pedro De Los Santos. The Majors would add one more to make it a 9-2 game after six innings.

De Los Santos loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, and with Brownlee up again, Andrew Simonetti got the call from the bullpen. The London DH took a called strike and a ball, then hit his third round trip of the game. Grand Slam, 13-2. As Brownlee shuffled across home plate for the third time, he recorded his eighth RBI on the day.

Leafs third baseman Johnathan Solazzo doubled in the bottom of the seventh to drive in a run and make it 13-3.

Toronto added one more run in the bottom of the eighth, when Orchard and second baseman Grant Tamane both doubled and Orchard scored.

That was all she wrote as London rode off with a 13-4 final.


London 13-13-1
Toronto 4-10-2

W - Peralta (7-2, 3.62)
L - Newton (1-1, 7.50)


BOXSCORE


The Leafs drop to 14-19, but remain tied with the Hamilton Cardinals for 4th place in the IBL standings, 10 1/2 games behind the Barrie Baycats. Toronto will next host the Baycats on Wednesday night, August 1st at Christie Pits.

Light at the End

                                                                                                                                                                               FILE PHOTO

The Toronto Maple Leafs experienced a lousy month of July.

As they embarked on a road trip to Barrie and Brantford over the past two nights, their record showed only two wins for the entire month. The last time a baseball team in Toronto won fewer than two games in the month of July was probably 1968, when there was literally no baseball team in Toronto.*

The good news is that the team has showed no signs of negativity during all of this. In talking to the players, they projected confidence in themselves and their teammates. Better to go through a dark patch now than when the playoffs begin in a couple of weeks. 

Better to hurl around some clichés than to panic. And so, with the Baycats on the menu first, the boys looked to keep their heads high, step it up, grind it out, play their game, and other things too.



Game 33: Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats, July 26, 2018

Baycats win 15-10

                                                                                                          FILE PHOTO

On Thursday night at Coates Stadium, the Leafs exploded out of the gate against the Barrie Baycats.

They battered starter Santos Arias for five runs, and his night ended after one inning. That did not slow the team at all, as they continued pounding Barrie pitchers all night long. The Leafs blistered the scorekeeper's fingers with a total of 15 hits and 10 runs in a ferocious display of aggression and power.

The Barrie Baycats scored 15 runs.

Yes, it was that kind of night. This rivalry always features high-scoring slugfests and this game was no exception. 

Garrett Takamatsu led Toronto's scoring with three hits and three RBIs. Grant Tamane (above) got three hits and two RBIs. Zac Orchard got two hits and two RBIs. Damon Topolie capped it off with his third home run of the season, one of his two hits on the night.

R.J. Page took the brunt of Barrie's offensive response. He pitched into the third inning, giving up 10 runs before Adam Marra came on in relief. Marra and Jackson Jones pitched the final 5 1/3 innings. The Leafs managed to tie the game 10-10 before Barrie piled on five runs off Jones in the bottom of the eighth to seal a 15-10 win.


Toronto 10-15-1
Barrie 15-11-1

W - Hawes (2-1, 5.52)
L - Jones (0-1, 10.45)


BOXSCORE




Game 34: Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox, July 27, 2018

Leafs win 2-0

                                                                                                          FILE PHOTO

Friday night at Arnold Anderson Stadium, one run got it done.

After the previous game's offensive explosion, the Toronto Maple Leafs engaged in a tense, low-scoring affair against the Brantford Red Sox. The clubs entered the game on a combined 16-game losing streak, so something had to give.

Toronto's win came off the bat of Connor Lewis with the noblest of plays, the sacrifice. With a man on third in the top of the fifth inning, Lewis hit a sac fly to drive in the first run of the game.

Toronto earned an insurance run on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth. By that point in the game, starter Justin Cicatello had whirled a gem. Cicatello went eight innings, giving up seven hits while striking out five and walking two. Most importantly, he kept the Red Sox off the board the entire night.

As a light sprinkle turned into rain, Dustin Richardson (above) took to the mound for the ninth. The former Boston Red Sox pitcher struck out the side to lock down a 2-0 win for Toronto and earn his second save of the season.

After a heinous 10-game losing streak, the Leafs were victors once again and the month of July got brighter at last.


Toronto 2-4-2 
Brantford 0-7-2

W - Cicatello (3-1, 2.61)
L - Leyer (1-6, 4.19)
S - Richardson (2)


BOXSCORE


At 14-18, the Leafs have stopped sliding down that gigantic chute and can start climbing the ladder again. They are tied with the Hamilton Cardinals for 4th place in the IBL standings, 10 games behind the Barrie Baycats. They return to Christie Pits this Sunday to take on the London Majors.


* The Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League were sold and relocated after the 1967 season. The Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty League began play in 1969.

Ripping Up the Script

Game 20: Kitchener Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs, July 25, 2018 (rescheduled rainout)

Panthers win 9-6

There has been a pattern to games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kitchener Panthers throughout the 2018 IBL season.

It goes like this: the Black Cats take an early lead and they stretch it out a mighty distance. The Leafs battle back like scrappers and legends, but fall just short of victory. Four games in a row have followed this script.

Last night at Christie Pits, they ripped up the script but the result was the same.

The Leafs arrived bearing an eight-game losing streak on their backs, their longest skid in years. As the players emerged from the clubhouse, I asked some of them to describe what their approach would be against Kitchener. They were all business, no panic.

"Start earlier," said Grant Tamane with a nod to the Panthers' habit of jumping ahead.

"Keep putting pressure on them," said R.J. Page. "Put the ball in play and get baserunners."

"We've got to grind tonight," said Zach Sloan. "We play well against the best teams, so we have to step it up."

Pedro De Los Santos toed the rubber for the Mapes against Jonder Martinez. The game had barely gotten underway before it was halted by Toothpickgate. A personal trademark of Martinez's is that he pitches with a toothpick in his mouth. As the sun set over the Pits, it lit up the toothpick and it became a distraction. Catcher Justin Marra requested that Martinez remove it. An unexpectedly long sequence of conversations took place between the umpires, the Kitchener starter and his manager Luke Baker before the game resumed and Martinez went pickless.

The early innings flew by as a pitchers' duel ensued. De Los Santos and Martinez both completed five scoreless before it even got dark.

The Panthers finally pounced in the top of the sixth. They racked up six hits and scored four runs. De Los Santos was relieved by Will Newton, who got out of the inning with a pair of strikeouts.

The Leafs punched right back in the bottom of the inning. Rightfielder Marcus Knecht drew a walk off Martinez, and first baseman Garrett Takamatsu followed with a single. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on a two-run single by DH Damon Topolie. That made it 4-2 Panthers through six.

Nick DaSilva pitched a perfect top of the seventh for Toronto, and then the Pits went to full throttle for the bottom of the inning. The crowd reacted noisily as leftfielder Daniel Szpik led off with a roaring double. Boisterous cheers rang down from the hillsides and the Panthers were momentarily rattled. A couple of fielding errors put centerfielder Connor Lewis and shortstop Aaron Hornostaj aboard, and allowed Szpik to score. A sac fly by second baseman Dan Marra drove in Lewis to tie the game. Walks to Justin Marra and Knecht loaded the bases with one out. Takamatsu then grounded to third and the Panthers made their third error of the inning. Takamatsu was safe at first, Hornostaj scored, but Marra was out on the play. A wild pitch by reliever Mike Schnurr let Knecht race home with another run and when the dust finally settled, Toronto had taken a 6-4 lead, koo koo roo.

He's been the "Sunday Starter" for most of the season, but Sloan came out of the bullpen in the top of the eighth. He pitched a scoreless inning, and the stage was set for a decisive final frame. 

And it was brutal. All nine men came to the plate for Kitchener, and they knocked out five runs on five hits, including league-leader Tanner Nivins' eleventh home run. Brutal, just brutal.

Closer Miguel Lahera took the mound for the bottom of the ninth, and the Leafs went down in order for a 9-6 FINAL. Schnurr with the win, Sloan with the loss. Despite drafting up a new script, the Leafs lost their ninth in a row as the Panthers swept the season series.


Kitchener 9-14-6
Toronto 6-8-0

W - Schnurr (3-0, 0.26)
L - Sloan (6-4, 4.06)
S - Lahera (7)


BOXSCORE


The 13-17 Leafs find themselves tied with the Hamilton Cardinals for 4th place in the IBL standings, 9 1/2 games behind the Barrie Baycats. They hit the road for two games to end the week. Tonight they play the league-leaders in Barrie, and on Friday night they visit Brantford for a tilt against the Red Sox.