2021 IBL Championship Series - Game 2, September 26 - London Majors at Toronto Maple Leafs
Leafs win 6-4, series tied 1-1
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| Justin Marra's three-run bomb proved to be the game-winner Sunday afternoon at the Pits. |
It was Sunday afternoon at Christie Pits, and your humble narrator dabbled with the dark art of speaking something into existence.
I was leaning against the fence along the third base line, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs warm up before Game 2 of the IBL Championship Series.
Johnathan Solazzo walked past on his way to the bench. In the first game of the series, the Leaf third baseman had gone 0-for-4 and struck out three times.
"Hey man, gimme something to write about," I said to him. We both laughed.
A couple of hours later, Solazzo hit a home run that put an exclamation point on a 6-4 victory by the Leafs.
In a short best-of-five series, every game feels like a must-win. For the Leafs it was especially true after they dropped the opener in London.
Marek Deska took the mound, facing off against Owen Boon, the league's top ERA man who was fresh off a 16-K shutout that clinched the Majors' place in the finals.
Both starters breezed through the first inning.
London got on the board in the 2nd, when Austin Wilkie hit a two-run home run.
Toronto responded in the bottom of the 2nd, when left fielder Chandler McLaren singled in right fielder Marcus Knecht to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
In the top of the 4th, London extended their lead thanks to a solo homer by Hayden Jaco.
In the bottom of the 5th, the Leafs got one back when second baseman Garrett Takamatsu singled in first baseman Jordan Castaldo. It was 3-2 Majors after five and the game was moving along quickly.
Boon was not as dominant as he had been in his previous outing. In the bottom of the 6th, the Leafs put two men aboard and Boon served up a pitch he would love to have back. Catcher Justin Marra crushed a three-run homer and the throngs at Christie Pits went wild in unison. For the first time in the game the Mapes enjoyed a lead, 5-3 through six.
Boon was done after six innings. Braeden Ferrington relieved him to start the 7th inning, and that was when Solazzo gave me something to write about. He blasted Ferrington's first pitch over the fence and the Pits went wild again. After seven innings the Leafs led 6-3.
Deska also lasted six innings, and his final line was three runs off seven hits with two strikeouts.
In the top of the 8th, reliever Andrew Hyde gave up a solo homer to Byron Reichstein to make it a 6-4 score.
All told, the Leafs got 13 hits on the day and ten of them came from the top four in the order. Castaldo led the way, going 5-for-5 and scoring twice.
On the flipside, pitching and defence were the difference this day. London was held to eight hits and they stranded four.
If Maple Leafs games featured walk-up music, the top of the ninth inning might have been greeted with the sound of a single church bell, tolling loud and slow. The sound of a funeral.
Dustin Richardson emerged from the Leafs bullpen.
A brief word about Dustin Richardson. At all times, the look on his face is grim. His entire demeanour is one of quiet grimness. In a parallel universe, Richardson is the hospital doctor who comes to tell you your loved one isn't going to make it. Or he's the man at the funeral home who moves everyone along without batting an eye. In our universe, he brings that same grim finality to baseball games.
He's ruthlessly efficient, too. It took him six pitches to record three outs and the game ended 6-4. It was his third save of the postseason, and Deska's third win.
The series is now tied 1-1. Two more wins will capture the Dominico Cup. The Leafs have regained the momentum that has carried them along for most of this postseason ride, and they will look to seize control of this series Tuesday night in London.
London 4 8 0
Toronto 6 13 0
W - Deska (3-0, 5.82)
L - Boon (1-1, 3.00)
S - Richardson (3)
Game 3 of this series goes Tuesday night at Labatt Park in London, with the first pitch at 7:35 pm.
