2021 IBL Championship Series - Game 1, September 24 - Toronto Maple Leafs at London Majors
Majors win 4-3, lead series 1-0
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| Justin Cicatello dueled with Pedro De Los Santos through six innings of Friday night's series opener, then watched his former Leaf teammate close out Game 1. |
The final chapter of this unique 2021 IBL season began Friday night at Labatt Park in London.
The swashbuckling Toronto Maple Leafs took to the field against the pennant-winning Majors in a final series for the Dominico Cup. It was as closely-fought a game as you could imagine.
The Leafs gave up six hits, the Majors five. The Leafs scored three runs, the Majors four. That was all the distance between the two clubs.
The air around Labatt Park was lively with anticipation, with arriving fans decked out in hats and jerseys of the Majors (mostly) and the Leafs (a few). The air was also chilly. Temperatures plunged as soon as the sun went down, a reminder that this series is being played almost a month later than it would have in normal times.
The bats of the visitors, red-hot this postseason, also cooled off. In the opening frame, London starter Pedro De Los Santos struck out first baseman Jordan Castaldo and DH Sean Reilly. It was a sign of the challenge the Leafs faced all night.
In the bottom of the 1st, Leafs starter Justin Cicatello gave up two RBI singles to Byron Reichstein and Cleveland Brownlee, giving the Majors an early 2-0 lead.
The game remained that way through four, with both pitchers trading shutout innings. Two hits was all the Leafs could muster until the top of the 5th. De Los Santos walked left fielder Chandler McLaren, and then pounced on a bunt attempt by center fielder Connor Lewis. An easier play would have been to first, but De Los Santos spun and threw a high touchdown pass way over second base. Both runners were safe. Castaldo then doubled in McLaren, and Lewis scored on a putout by catcher Justin Marra. Just like that it was a 2-2 ballgame.
London retook the lead in the bottom of the 5th when Keith Kandel singled in a run to make it 3-2.
In the bottom of the 6th, the Majors added what turned out to be a crucial insurance run, when a groundout by Brownlee brought in another run to make it 4-2 through six.
When Lewis next came to the plate, De Los Santos may have been revisiting his fielding adventure. Lewis blasted a first-pitch home run over the wall in left and the Leafs bench came alive, down by just one run.
In the 7th and 8th innings, Mateos Kekatos and Dustin Richardson were lights out for the Leafs out of the bullpen. Meanwhile, De Los Santos kept trotting to the mound at the top of each inning. There were occasional signs of movement in the London pen. A pitcher would get up and throw a few tosses with his hoodie still on, scratch listlessly at the dirt with one shoe, then sit down again. The game was De Los Santos' to lose.
He did not lose this one. The Leafs threatened in the 9th, putting two men aboard, but De Los Santos closed out the inning for a 4-3 final. Along the way he struck out 12 Leafs. Cicatello pitched six innings and gave up four runs for the loss.
This opening game was like one of those packages of frozen hors d'oeuvres you throw in the oven. A little bit of everything. A pitchers' duel and lots of strikeouts. A booming home run. Speed around the basepaths. Some poorly-received calls by the umpires. Action, tension, and victory for one side.
Eager to see which of these tasty samplers we will get more of as the series moves to Christie Pits on Sunday afternoon.
London 4 6 1
W - De Los Santos (2-0, 2.64)
L - Cicatello (2-1, 2.36)
Game 2 of this series is Sunday afternoon at Christie Pits, with the first pitch at 2:00 pm.
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