On the Christie Hillside: The Heat is On

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - August 16 to 22, 2021

As a heatwave rolled over the province, the Toronto Maple Leafs debuted a new look and won two out of three

Andrew Hyde delivers a pitch at Christie Pits on Sunday.

Week 7 of the IBL season was notable for a few reasons. A heatwave rolled into town at the start of the week and hung around all the way to Sunday and beyond. The hot and dry days fried the hillsides at Christie Pits, leaving them a pale, dead colour.

Speaking of colour, the Toronto Maple Leafs busted out some cool powder blue uniforms at home. The club has teased this look on the road and finally treated their home fans to this throwback look.

Another treat for Leafs fans is seeing the pieces of this summer's roster falling into place at the right time. A couple of players have returned from early-season injuries (Zach Sloan and Connor Lewis), and an old friend made a return to the mound (Dustin Richardson).

The Leafs started the week by defeating their rivals the Barrie Baycats at Christie Pits. They then went on the road and beat the Hamilton Cardinals.

It was not to be a perfect week, as the boys in powder blue were unable to forge a comeback against the Brantford Red Sox on Sunday. So this may have been both the first and last time that we ever see those unies at the Pits. We shall see. Until then, here's a quick look back at the week that was.

Tuesday, August 17, 2021 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Hamilton Cardinals

Rained out.

This game has been rescheduled for Friday, September 3.

Wednesday, August 18, 2021 - Barrie Baycats at Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs broke out some sweet powder blue unies on Wednesday night, and it was a winning look as they defeated the Barrie Baycats.

Most people have heard of that famous baseball diamond in a corn field in Iowa, the one that stakes a claim on heaven. It's an awesome place for sure, but Toronto has its own claim in the matter.

The scene is Christie Pits on a warm summer's evening. The sun casts its final rays over the fans scattered around the ballpark. In groups or alone, they settle in on the slopes and take in the view of the sunken diamond below. Before long, the Toronto Maple Leafs take the field and surprise everyone by debuting throwback powder blue uniforms this night. For younger fans its rad. For older fans, it harkens back.

A visiting rival, a playoff atmosphere. The rooters are noisy, and they get treated to a hard-fought contest. After nine innings, their heroes have staged a come-from-behind win. With cheers and applause ringing around the place, they watch them stroll away into the night, arms aloft.

It's perfect. With all the shit going on in the world, who wouldn't love this place of momentary escape, this paradise?

Well, the Barrie Baycats for one.

Despite bringing along their own vocal contingent of fans, they fell victim to the latest Christie comeback.

It was destined from the first inning. (A voice whispers, "Destiny!")

Brandon Lyons started on the mound for the Leafs. The Baycats jumped on him for a triple and a single to take a 1-0 lead.

The visitors added two more runs in the top of the 2nd. In the bottom of the same inning, right fielder Marcus Knecht hit a two-run homer to make it a 3-2 ballgame.

In the bottom of the 3rd, third baseman Johnathan Solazzo tied the game with an RBI single.

Zach Sloan relieved Lyons after two innings, and Barrie jumped on him too. They put up four more runs to take a 7-3 lead.

The Leafs got one back in the bottom of the 5th, but the Baycats struck again in the top of the 6th, scoring a run off Evan DiMichele. After six innings, Barrie led 8-4.

In keeping with the whole "Field of Dreams", theme, when things were at their worst, some magical moment should have happened next. (A voice whispers, "Magical!")

Maybe what should have happened next was something like a ghostly apparition emerging through the centerfield gate. Maybe the team owner suddenly stepping through the gate as a young man, or the giant head of Handlebar Hank floating in towards the diamond and gently exhorting the players not to give up, to fight on, to win it.

None of that nonsense happened.

Justin Marra happened. (A voice whispers, "Marra!")

Pow! Pow! The Leafs catcher smashed two home runs in two innings and led a six-run rampage. The boys in blue romped around the bases and took a 10-8 lead with the place going wild around them. Pitchers Adam Marra and Mateos Kekatos combined over the final three innings, giving up just one hit and no runs. Win. Save. Celebration. Roll credits.

Barrie 8 12 2

Toronto 10 9 2

W - A. Marra (1-1, 5.74)

L - Cox (0-1, 3.85)

S - Kekatos (1)

BOXSCORE

Friday, August 20, 2021 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Hamilton Cardinals

Dustin Richardson makes his 2021 Maple Leafs debut in Hamilton on Friday night and shuts down the Cardinals.
Image from Hamilton Cardinals YouTube

The big beast is back.

Dustin Richardson is a former major leaguer.* He stands six feet, six inches tall -- big enough to stop a monster truck. He's a native of Kansas and he first joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018, making 12 relief appearances for the Leafs with three saves until they were knocked out in the semi-finals that season.

His return couldn't come at a better time. The 2021 IBL season is down to its last couple of weeks and teams are calibrating their post-season lineups.

Richardson figures big in the Leafs' playoff plans and it was great to see him on the mound on Friday night. Monster trucks were scheduled for some other night at Bernie Arbour Stadium, so the big beast dealt with some some quivering, flailing batters instead.

Before thing even got to that point, the Leafs played a great game with a great team effort.

Marek Deska made the start on the mound, and he showed ace stuff. The veteran bulldog pitched into the 6th inning, giving up just three hits and one run while striking out five Cardinals.

Deska's teammates provided him with a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning. Right fielder Marcus Knecht led the inning off with a solo home run. A double by left fielder Jordan Castaldo drove in a second run, and a third one came in on an error that allowed Castaldo to score.

In the bottom of the 6th, Deska and reliever Michael Asta each gave up a run to make it a 3-2 game.

The Leafs were in a tight spot. In the bottom of the 8th, the Cardinals got two singles to start the inning. That was when Richardson got the call. He was assisted almost immediately by catcher Justin Marra, who threw a pickoff to second base to nail a baserunner. A couple of flyballs later, the Leafs were out of the inning.

DH Sean Reilly homered to lead off the 9th inning. The insurance run made it a 4-2 ballgame, and Richardson struck out two Cardinals en route to his first save of the season, preserving the win for Deska.

* Boston Red Sox, 2009-10

Toronto 4 8 0

Hamilton 2 8 2

W - Deska (3-0, 2.82)

L - Braun (1-1, 5.50)

S - Richardson (1)

BOXSCORE

Sunday, August 22 - Brantford Red Sox at Toronto Maple Leafs

Dan Marra's three RBIs sparked a late comeback against Brantford on Sunday afternoon, but the Leafs fell short.

Sunday afternoon had to be the hottest of the season. Truly one of the dog days. All around Christie Pits, folks were taking it easy. Not too much noise, not too much exertion.

The Toronto Maple Leafs showed some of those same vibes on the diamond. They fell behind the visiting Brantford Red Sox early, they battled back slowly, and they ran out of innings before they could stage a winning comeback.

Andrew Hyde pitched the first four innings for the Leafs. He gave up four runs on six hits, including a first pitch home run by Red Sox first baseman Nick Burdett.

Adam Marra relieved Hyde to start the 5th inning, and he also gave up a first pitch home run to Burdett.

Trailing 5-0, the Leafs shook off some of the lethargy in the bottom of the 5th. Brantford starter Adam Jafine walked two batters to start the inning, setting the stage for Leafs third baseman Johnathan Solazzo, who cracked an RBI double. Shortstop Dan Marra followed with a 2-run single to make it a 5-3 game.

The Red Sox made the Leafs' task a harder by scoring two runs off Zach Sloan in the 7th. 7-3 Brantford through seven.

Jafine was still on the mound in the 8th inning and he loaded the bases on a walk, single and by plunking Solazzo on the arm. Dan Marra drew a walk and a run came in to make it 7-4 through eight.

Mike Mueller came on to pitch the 9th for Brantford and it was now or never for the Leafs. A leadoff home run by left fielder Jordan Castaldo jolted the Pits back to life. But the surge was momentary, as Mueller got the next three batters out to close out a 7-5 win for the visitors.

Woof!

Brantford 7 12 0

Toronto 5 8 1

W - Jafine (2-1, 4.08)

L - Hyde (0-2, 7.56)

S - Mueller (1)

BOXSCORE