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Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 24 to 30, 2023

The Leafs won the only game they played in a rain-shortened Week 11 in the IBL season.

Johnathan Solazzo salutes the Bushmen of Christie Pits after hitting a mammoth home run on Sunday afternoon.

It's been hot in the city.  It's been wet in the city.

Rainouts were the story in Week 11 of this IBL season.  Two of the Toronto Maple Leafs' three scheduled games were washed away.

Add those two to a bunch of recent games have been rescheduled by the will of Mother Nature.  Five games from July are being carried over into August.  The rejigged Leafs schedule includes the following new dates:

Tuesday, August 1 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers, 7:30 pm at Jack Couch Park

Wednesday, August 2 - Barrie Baycats vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits

Monday, August 7 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox, 2:00 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium

Saturday, August 12 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish, 7:15 pm at Welland Stadium

Tuesday, August 15 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits.

The Mapes won the one game that they were able to play, beating the Hamilton Cardinals on Sunday.  More on that below, as we review a very short Week 11.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 - Kitchener Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs

and

Saturday, July 29, 2023 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish

BOTH OF THESE GAMES WERE RAINED OUT AND WILL BE PLAYED IN AUGUST.

Sunday, July 30, 2023 - Hamilton Cardinals at Toronto Maple Leafs

Dustin Richardson, Toronto's own Undertaker, prepares to send another man to the grave, I mean to the bench.

Sunny skies and winning ways returned to Christie Pits on Sunday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs moved up to fourth place in the standings with a convincing 9-5 win over the slumping Hamilton Cardinals.

Daniel Procopio delivered another strong performance on the mound, giving up just one run over four innings while striking out seven.

It was a game of familiar performances by many Leafs players, starting with leadoff man Jose Vinicio.  The speedy shortstop opened the game with a single off starter Colby Ring.  He followed that with his trademark double steal of both second and third.  A sacrifice fly by first baseman Jordan Castaldo brought Vinicio home with the first run of the game.

In the top of the second, An RBI double by Hamilton's Laine Renaud tied the game at one.

Bottom of the same inning, DH Garrett Takamatsu reminded everyone that he is Garrett Takamatsu, swatting a solo home run to put the Leafs ahead 2-1.

Julian Valdez took over on the mound to start the fifth inning, and a home run by Cardinal Tyler Duncan tied the game again, 2-2.

The Cards threatened again in the top of the sixth inning, when Connor Bowie doubled and moved to third with one out.  He was caught napping and erased by a lightning throw to the bag by catcher Justin Marra.  Johnathan Solazzo applied the tag, Bowie was out, and the Pits whooped it up.

In the bottom of the sixth, left fielder Jesse Hodges drew a walk to start the inning, moved to second on a single by second baseman Dan Marra, and moved to third when right fielder J.J. Dutton hit into a fielder's choice that eliminated Marra at second.  One pitch later, Dutton stole second.  The throw from catcher Luis Bernardo sailed into centerfield, allowing Hodges to trot home and make it a 3-2 Leafs lead through six.

Sam Greene pitched a clean sheet in the seventh for Toronto.

In the later innings, the Leafs put the game away.  In the bottom of the seventh, third baseman Solazzo crushed a mammoth three-run home run into the infield of the diamond opposite from Dominico Field.  Luckily none of the little leaguers over there got skulled. 6-2 Leafs through seven.

Evan Elliott and Dustin Richardson combined to get through the top of the eighth before the Leafs added three more runs off five hits in the bottom of the inning.  Castaldo singled to drive in his second run of the day.  Solazzo singled in his fourth of the day, and pinch hitter Aidan McAskie hit an RBI single to make it a 9-2 game.

As the game approached its denouement, some birdsong arose from the Hamilton bench, whose batters had been plunked three times in the eighth inning.  Leafs closer Richardson took note of the chirping, finished the inning and delivered some pointed glances as he walked off the field.

Richardson returned to the mound for the ninth.  The Cardinals scraped out three runs but went down swinging to end the game.  The chirping continued, so Richardson directed some devastating comments to the Hamilton bench.  He went straight for the jugular, declaring the french fries at Bernie Arbour Stadium the worst in the IBL.*

"Your ballpark french fries are so bad it's like eating deep fried cardboard," Richardson jeered.

Stung by the truth of Richardson's declaration, the Cardinals half-heartedly stepped forward from their bench.

Leafs centerfielder Connor Lewis delivered the decisive blow in the discussion.

"Your fries are inedible, INEDIBLE!"  His words rang all around the ballpark.  There was no coming back from that.  The beating was complete.  Heads down, the Cardinals shuffled to their clubhouse.

For his part, Valdez took the win and Richardson got a save.  If, as things are looking, these two clubs remain where they are in the standings, they could be on a first round postseason collision course.

* It's true.  Bernie Arbour Stadium used to have the best fries in the IBL, delicious golden slices of heaven supplied by local institution Hutch's.  Those fries were a highlight for visiting fans.  Having switched suppliers, the Cardinals have gone from first to worst in the IBL among connoisseurs of ballpark fare, as your humble correspondent and part-time food writer can confirm.  It's a tragic state of affairs.

Hamilton 5 12 2

Toronto 9 15 1

W - Valdez (2-5, 7.57)

L - Ring (3-5, 5.12)

S - Richardson (1)

BOXSCORE

The Maple Leafs are now 15-14 on the season and in 4th place in the IBL standings, 8 games behind the Welland Jackfish.

The week ahead:

Tuesday, August 1 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers, 7:30 pm at Jack Couch Park

Wednesday, August 2 - Barrie Baycats vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits

Friday, August 4 - Toronto Maple Leafs at London Majors, 7:35 pm at Labatt Memorial Park

Sunday, August 6 - London Majors vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits

Big Hits and Near Misses

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 17 to 23, 2023

The Leafs slugged their way to a win to wrap up a short Week 10 in the IBL season.

Jordan Castaldo bombs Bloor Street with a home run on a winning Sunday at Christie Pits.

Losing streaks suck!  They suuuuuck!

Every player and fan knows this.  For the past week and more, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been losing in excruciating fashion.  Three times, they lost in extra innings.  A few plays that went the other way, and they might have had themselves a three-game win streak.  Instead, the agony of defeat hung over the Leafs and their legion of Christie Crazies.

On a soggy Sunday this week, the Leafs finally slugged their way to victory.  Agony ended.

As the season rolls on and the first thoughts of postseason baseball begin to germinate, it could be argued that these Leafs are playing a Very Maple Leaf Season.

They show flashes -- but not too many flashes -- of offensive firepower.  They show flashes -- but not too many flashes -- of pitching wizardry.  They win a few, lose a few, and their record at or around the .500 mark reflects that.  It's the flashes that keep hope alive that these Leafs will go on to play a Very Maple Leaf Postseason, when all that firepower and wizardy go into Extreme Mode, and the Leafs go all the way to the IBL Championship Series for the third year in a row.

For now, here's the recap of Week 10 in Leafs baseball.

Saturday, July 22, 2023 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Guelph Royals

Justin Marra scrambles after an Evan Elliott pitch in vain, as Guelph scores the winning run in extras on Saturday night. (image: Guelph Royals YouTube)

OOF.

Saturday night in Guelph, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost their third straight game in extra innings and extended their losing slide to four games.

It was looking well early on.

Starter Wilgenis Alvarado delivered another stud performance for the Leafs, giving up just two runs over six innings at Hastings Stadium.

The Leafs took an early lead in unconventional fashion.  In the top of the second inning, centerfielder Connor Lewis drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on a single by second baseman Dan Marra, then trotted home on a wild pitch by Royals starter Hector Yan.  1-0 Leafs.

In the top of the fourth, the Leafs added a run.  Two walks and a single loaded the bases.  Yan then walked DH Garrett Takamatsu to bring in the Leafs second run of the game.

After Guelph tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Alvarado turned it over to the bullpen.

Chris Nagorski pitched a perfect seventh.

Dustin Richardson followed with two scoreless innings.  

The game remained tied 2-2 after nine innings and it was on to extras.

The Leafs went down in order in the top of the tenth.  Evan Elliott took over on the mound and Guelph's ghost runner Noah Roberts took his place at second base.  A sacrifice bunt moved Roberts to third.  The next pitch from Elliott would end the game, as it got past catcher Justin Marra.  Roberts flew home with the winning run and the Leafs went down 3-2 in ten innings.

OOF.

Toronto 2 5 2

Guelph 3 2 0

W - Deans (1-0, 3.09)

L - Elliott (1-1, 0.00)

BOXSCORE

Sunday, July 23, 2023 - Brantford Red Sox at Toronto Maple Leafs

Daniel Procopio pitched an inning, waited out a rain delay, then pitched four more en route to his fourth win of the season.

Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked to get over their four-game losing streak.

At first glance, seeing the lowly Brantford Red Sox (6-23) on the schedule might have been cause for optimism.  As fate would have it, the team that arrived at Christie Pits was the suddenly hot and high-scoring Brantford Red Sox, coming off a pair of home wins in which they scored a total of 22 runs.

The Leafs and their fans suspected that the boys in blue would have to put a lot of runs on the board to get back in the win column.

As a wall of grey clouds approached the ballpark, starters Daniel Procopio and Danny Garcia traded scoreless innings to start the game.  The umpiring crew chief then declared a pause.  The grey clouds had arrived over the outfield, bringing with them the rumble and flash of a thunderstorm.

After a 45-minute delay, play resumed, and Procopio picked up where he left off.  He and Garcia put goose eggs on the scoreboard in the second and third innings.  

Brantford's fantastically stylish first baseman Nick Burdett drove in a run in the top of the fourth to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Toronto DH Jordan Castaldo crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to put the Leafs ahead 2-1.  It was the opening shot in a four-RBI day for Castaldo.

The Red Sox reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs to make it 3-2.

The see-saw battle continued in the bottom of the fifth and this time the Mapes took the lead for good.  Right fielder Ryan Santos hit an RBI double.  Centerfielder Connor Lewis scored from third on a wild pitch.  A single by shortstop Jose Vinicio scored Santos.  It was the Lewis run that blew up the Brantford bench, which had been rolling and tumbling and muttering and chirping for most of the game.  When the dust settled on the inning, Toronto led 5-3 and the visitors' bench had fewer people left on it.

In the sixth inning, the Leafs blew up the scoreboard.  Eleven men came to the plate, racking up six runs off three hits, four walks and an error.  First baseman Garrett Takamatsu, Lewis, Santos and Vinicio each recorded an RBI.  Castaldo drove in a pair.  A lot of runs were called for in this game, and the Leafs delivered, taking an 11-3 lead through six.

Julian Valdez pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings for Toronto.

Lewis added another RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to make it 12-3.

Adam Marra pitched a perfect eighth.  The Red Sox scratched out a pair of runs off Zach Sloan in the ninth, but they could not handle the Leafs' firepower this day.  Toronto won a 12-5 final and snapped their losing streak before a home crowd that was damp and diminished but happy with a win.

Brantford 5 8 2

Toronto 12 10 1

W - Procopio (4-1, 6.23)

L - Garcia (0-5, 12.39)

BOXSCORE

Ten weeks into the season, the Maple Leafs are 14-14 and tied with the Hamilton Cardinals for 4th place in the IBL standings.  Both clubs are 8 1/2 games behind the Welland Jackfish.

The week ahead:

Wednesday, July 26 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits

Saturday, July 29 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish, 6:05 pm at Welland Stadium

Sunday, July 30 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits