On the Christie Hillside: Bringer of Trains, Bringer of Pain

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 18 to 24, 2022

Week 10 saw the Leafs win two in a row thanks to some monster performances at the plate.

Johnathan Solazzo sends a power point to the Christie hillsides after hitting a sixth inning grand slam on Sunday, his second homer of the game.

Week 10 was a light one for the Toronto Maple Leafs with only two games on the schedule.

Friday night in Hamilton, they overcame some early adversity and sent the struggling Cardinals to their tenth straight defeat.

Sunday was another steamy Christie Pits classic. It started with Angel Castro on the mound.

"We needed a horse, so we're bringing in the horse." Those were skipper Damon Topolie's words back in June when the Maple Leafs signed the Dominican pitcher.

Since then, the horse has been run out a few times, getting better each time around.

Sunday saw Castro's best performance yet. He held the Guelph Royals to three runs, and he also demonstrated his talent as a different kind of two-way player. Whenever the Leafs were at the plate, Castro hollered a steady stream of encouragement to his teammates. Whether in Spanish or English or some combination of both, he was LOUD and got under some of the visitors' skins. On the mound and on the bench, the noisy horse won the day.

Meanwhile, Johnathan Solazzo is winning the month. After a slow start to the season, the most famous employee in the history of CN Rail has been on a rampage. In the month of July, he raised his batting average 77 points to .343 while racking up 19 hits, 13 runs, 5 home runs, 18 RBIs and 10 walks. The bringer of trains has been a bringer of pain for IBL pitchers.

Justin Marra is right there with him. The Leaf catcher's July has been almost a carbon copy: 18 hits, 18 runs, 5 home runs, 18 RBIs and 9 walks.

Together, Solazzo and Marra terrorized their opponents all weekend, hitting 6 home runs and 10 RBIs in two games.

The Leafs overtook Barrie in the standings and climbed closer to third place. As the final month of the season approaches, the team keeps getting stronger.

Friday, July 8, 2022 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Hamilton Cardinals

Justin Marra is greeted by Jordan Castaldo after he bombed the soccer field beyond Bernie Arbour Stadium on Friday night. (image: IBLCardinalsBaseball YouTube)

Rough start, great finish.

Friday night at Bernie Arbour Stadium, the Maple Leafs faced multiple deficits after just one inning of play.

Road warrior Marek Deska started on the mound for the Leafs, but he faced only two batters before leaving the game. He gave up a leadoff single to Tristan Osika, then got hit on the hand by a line drive off the bat of Luis Jean. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo grabbed the ricochet and fired to first, where Jean collided with Jordan Castaldo. Three players injured on one play. Deska left the game immediately, replaced on the mound by Dylan Jacober. Jean remained on the bases long enough to come around to score the second run of the inning for Hamilton. He left the game at the end of the inning. Castaldo hung around three more innings before he too left the game.

In the top of the 2nd, second baseman Dan Marra and left fielder Grant Tamane both singled, and Marra came around to score on a fielder's choice by Jose Vinicio. It was 2-1 Hamilton after two.

The Leafs took the lead in the top of the 3rd. Castaldo singled, Solazzo doubled, and DH Aidan McAskie singled to drive them both in. A single by centerfielder Connor Lewis moved McAskie to third, and another single by Dan Marra plated him. 4-2 Leafs through three.

With Jacober dealing on the mound, the Leafs put the game out of reach thanks to solo home runs by catcher Justin Marra and Solazzo. That made it 6-2 Leafs and they never looked back.

Jacober surrendered a pair of runs in the bottom of the 4th, but he pitched four solid innings and struck out seven en route to the win. Relievers Zach Sloan, Ryan Wells and Franklin Hernandez combined for four shutout innings and Chris Nagorski locked the birdcage again for his third save of the season.

Vinicio drove in one more run for the Leafs in the 7th, as they won a 7-4 FINAL and the Cards crashed to their tenth straight defeat.

Mad props to Cable 14 Hamilton for providing fantastic camera work for the Cardinals' YouTube broadcast. Whatever happened to Cable 14 in Toronto? Team up some on-field camera operators with the Leafs broadcast team and it would make for unstoppable viewing.

Toronto 7 15 2

Hamilton 4 10 3

W - Jacober (3-0, 5.51)

L - Salcedo (1-3, 12.76)

S - Nagorski (3)

BOXSCORE

Sunday, July 24, 2022 - Guelph Royals at Toronto Maple Leafs

Angel Castro had his best outing yet on Sunday, going seven strong on the mound, and nine strong on the bench.

Sunday at Christie Pits, a daylong threat of rain held off and a not huge crowd gathered around the hillsides. The Leafs burst right out of the gate and overwhelmed the visiting Guelph Royals.

Starter Angel Castro retired the side to start the game. Royals starter Ben Braun did not fare as well. Catcher Justin Marra and third baseman Johnathan Solazzo both tagged him for solo home runs. First baseman Aidan McAskie singled, centerfielder Connor Lewis doubled, and McAskie scored on a groundout by second baseman Dan Marra. After one inning, the Leafs were ahead 3-0.

The Leafs kept the pressure on in the 2nd inning. DH Luca Boscarino drew a leadoff walk, then came all the way around to score on a double by right fielder Gregory Carrington. The ball was played for an error by the Guelph infield and Carrington wound up at third. A sac fly by shortstop Jose Vinicio brought him in and the Leafs led 5-0.

Braun's day did not last much longer. He was relieved in the third by Emilis Guerrero in the bottom of the third.

Castro gave up two earned runs in the 4th and another in the 5th, letting the Royals draw within two runs. The score was 5-3 through five.

Guerrero kept the Leafs off the board until the bottom of the 6th. He gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases, setting the stage for Solazzo to crush a grand slam, his fifth RBI of the game and third home run of the weekend. 9-3 Leafs after six.

Castro, who had been cheering his teammates on during the bottom of every inning, was done after seven innings during which he gave up three runs off six hits with three K's. Franklin Hernandez pitched the top of the 8th and gave up a pair of runs to make it a 9-5 ballgame.

In the bottom of the 8th, the Leafs put the game away for good with a seven-run explosion at the expense of relievers Evan Kiser and Ben Reid. Firestarter Jose Vinicio reached first on an error, then promptly stole second and third, giving him four stolen bases on the day. Justin Marra followed with a two-run homer -- his third of the weekend -- and the rout was on. The Leafs got six hits in the inning, the Royals committed two errors and hit a batter, and when the dust settled it was a 16-5 blowout.

Chris Nagorski gave up a garbage time grand slam in the 9th but put the Royals away with a 16-9 FINAL and a win for Damon Topolie's noisy horse, Angel Castro.

After the game there were some warm scenes as fans around the park expressed their love and appreciation for future first ballot Hall of Famer Sean Reilly, whose Royals were making their final regular season appearance of the year.

Rumours have been rumoured that this will be ex-Leaf Reilly's final season, so I put the question to him directly.

"It's looking that way," Reilly said. What he left unsaid was what many IBL followers know, and that's just how hard it is to let go for good.

The IBL life is not easy to walk away from. Countless players have announced their retirement only to join a new club or return to play after a brief absence. Reilly may be going for now, but he would certainly be welcomed back for another season or more.

Guelph 9 13 4

Toronto 16 16 0

W - Castro (2-2, 6.67)

L - Braun (1-4, 7.31)

BOXSCORE