2022 IBL Championship Series - Game 5
September 20 - Toronto Maple Leafs at London Majors
Majors win 8-3, lead the series 3-2
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| The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves behind the eight-ball after losing Game 5 of the IBL Championship Series last night in London. (file photo) |
It's the long way around or nothing.
That is the fork in the road that the Toronto Maple Leafs face after dropping Game 5 of the IBL Championship Series. In order to claim the Dominico Cup their next two games are must-win.
After being shut out for five innings at Labatt Park last night, the Leafs edged ahead with a slender 2-1 lead over the London Majors in the 6th. It all went awry in the bottom of the same inning, when two of the team's tightest relievers unraveled. London put seven runs on the board and cruised away with an 8-3 win.
Manager Garrett Takamatsu went with a proven combination of arms on the mound. Sam Greene for the first three innings, followed by Dylan Jacober, with Franklin Hernandez there to seal the deal at the end. This trio delivered a victory for the Leafs in Game 2 of the series.
It started well. Greene pitched three scoreless. His wicked curveballs had the Majors' broadcast team oohing and aahing with awe. There was trouble afoot in the 3rd inning when Greene walked the bases loaded with two outs. Majors catcher Robert Mullen then hit a long flyball to left that momentarily stopped everyone's hearts. Left fielder Gregory Carrington made the catch of the night, right against the wall to end the inning and give Toronto hearts a kick of adrenaline.
Greene's opposite on the mound, Fernando Fernandez, also cruised through the early going. Once again, a pitchers' duel was under way.
Jacober took over on the mound in the 4th and continued the scoreless streak. He got into trouble with walks and wild pitches in the 5th, which brought a run in for London to make it 1-0.
The Leafs immediately responded in the top of the 6th. Fernandez, who kept them off the board through five, issued a leadoff walk to third baseman Johnathan Solazzo. Daniel Gore relieved Fernandez and as is often the case, the bats came alive. Centerfielder Connor Lewis smacked an RBI double to score Solazzo. DH Damon Topolie reached on a fielder's choice that eliminated Lewis, but he advanced and scored on consecutive singles by Carrington and shortstop Jose Vinicio. The Leafs took a 2-1 lead and it suddenly looked as if they might be the first club in two years to win a championship series game on the road.
Narrator: They did not.
Jacober gave up three singles in a row to start the bottom of the 6th, and a nightmare began to unfold. Hernandez was hustled in from the bullpen to try and avert disaster, but it didn't work. In a case of The Worst Timing Ever, both Jacober and Hernandez had their roughest outings of the post season. Hits, walks, hit batsmen, runs across the plate, on and on it went. When the horror inning finally ended, 12 Majors had come to bat, racking up seven runs for an 8-2 lead.
The Mapes, who will not go down without a fight, scratched out a run in the top of the 7th, but that was as close as they got. They fell 8-3 in Game 5, and now they are down in the series three games to two.
For this memorable season to continue to ultimate success, they will have to win out the next two games.
Toronto 3 7 0
London 8 9 2
W - Gore (2-0, 1.88)
L - Jacober (3-1, 5.02)
The championship series continues with Game 6 on Thursday night at Christie Pits. Game time is 7:30 pm.
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