Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - June 17 to 23, 2025
The Leafs finish Week Six riding a four-game win streak
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| The story of Week Six was Maple Leafs pitching getting it done. Clockwise from top left: Wilgenis Alvarado, Luis Florentino, Drew Howard and Adam Jafine. (file photos) |
If a tree falls at Christie Pits and no one is there, does it make a sound?
A century-old elm tree on Barton Avenue right behind the ballpark has appeared in many photos on this website. In the shot below, the gigantic tree can be seen in the background, looming behind a closer one on the north slope where many fans sit in the shade.
This spring, the tree stopped producing leaves and appeared to be dead. After conducting an analysis, the municipal department of parks and public containment declared that the tree now posed a hazard to Barton Avenue and surrounding properties and would have to come down.
That tree witnessed every single Toronto Maple Leafs game ever played at Christie Pits. Last week, down it came with no one around to mark the occasion. The Leafs' only home game was rained out.
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| Photo May 11, 2025 |
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| Photo June 23, 2025 |
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| (image: theibl.ca) |
Hamilton will host the 2025 IBL All-Star Showdown on Sunday, July 20th at 7:30 PM at Bernie Arbour Stadium.
This annual summer event will once again feature the North vs. South format, showcasing the league’s best talent in a highly anticipated midseason showdown. Just like last year, fans will vote to decide the North and South teams.
Online voting is now open. Click this link and help send an army of Leafs to the All-Star Game.
Turning now to Canada's most exciting baseball team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Sensational! Irresistible!)
Have the Mapes turned a corner? A week ago, I was here lamenting their bloated runs-allowed numbers (highest in the IBL) and being all anxious that they'd have to score 10 runs a game just to have a chance.
This week, Leafs pitching came up big time.
Three road games, three wins. Quality pitching throughout.
In Brantford, they gave up just two runs. Wilgenis Alvarado was back on ace form.
In Welland, they gave up just two runs. Luis Florentino, Nathan Currah and Dustin Richardson teamed up to lock down the league's highest-scoring offence.
In Hamilton, they gave up just one run. Adam Jafine and Drew Howard overcame brutal heat wave conditions to stymie the Cardinals.
Three games does not a season make. It barely makes a trend. But the Leafs are suddenly looking armed and dangerous as they continue to climb the standings.
On the other side of the plate, who else but Jordan Castaldo produced another MVP weekend.
The Leafs' first baseman went 5-for-9, batting .555 over three games. He drove in eight runs, scored seven and hit three home runs.
As stingy as the Leafs were on the mound, they continued to terrorize opposing pitchers, racking up 28 runs in three games. On the season, they have now scored just five fewer than the league-leading Welland Jackfish.
And now, here is the recap of Week Six in Leafs baseball.
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs
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| The waterlogged visitors' bench after a rainout. (file photo) |
The Leafs' scheduled Wednesday Nighter against the Kitchener Panthers was rained out.
The makeup game will be played on Saturday, July 5th, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits.
Friday, June 20, 2025 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox
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| The Leafs celebrate Rando Moreno's three-run homer. (image: Brantford Red Sox YouTube) |
On Friday night, two clubs moving in different directions met at Arnold Anderson Stadium.
The Toronto Maple Leafs came to town and had their way with the Brantford Red Sox, taking a 15-2 victory. Unlike these clubs' previous matchup, which the Leafs won in a wild ninth inning comeback, this one was never in doubt.
Wilgenis Alvarado frustrated Brantford bats over the first five innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out five.
In the top of the second inning, RBI singles by catcher Justin Marra and centerfielder Kalayo Shaw put the Leafs ahead 2-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, two hits and a sac fly by Christian Ortega made it a 2-1 score. That was as close as the home side would get, as the visitors pulled further and further away in the second half of the game.
Shaw opened the top of the fifth with a single. Three batters later, he scored from third on a wild pitch by Brantford starter Nicholai Arbach. Later in the inning, shortstop Rando Moreno smashed an Arbach offering over the fence in right -- a three-run shot that made it 6-1.
One inning later, the Leafs dumped the Sox into the hamper for good. They victimized a pair of relievers for seven runs on five hits. RBIs were recorded by left fielder Ryan Dos Santos, first baseman Jordan Castaldo (2), right fielder Marcus Knecht, second baseman Spenser Ross, and DH Spencer MacInnis. Justin Marra scored on a wild pitch to round things off and the Leafs led 13-1 after six innings.
In the seventh, the Leafs added two more runs to make it 15-1. Pinch hitter Dennis Dei Baning drove in one of the runs.
All night long it seemed that Leaf bats kept finding holes while Sox bats kept finding gloves.
Alvarado was done after five innings. Three relievers went the rest of the way: Matt Brown made his IBL debut and pitched two scoreless. Marek Deska pitched a perfect eighth. Ayami Sato wrapped up the ninth, giving up one run on two hits and recording her sixth strikeout of the season.
The game ended 15-2. Alvarado earned his first win of the season while Arbach took the loss.
Saturday, June 21, 2025 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish
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| Dustin Richardson recorded four strikeouts in two innings to nail down a Leafs victory in Welland. (image: Welland Jackfish YouTube) |
Saturday night in the Rose City, the Toronto Maple Leafs faced -- and passed -- their toughest assignment of the weekend.
They went into Welland Stadium and beat the first place Jackfish 5-2.
So far this season, the Fish had allowed an average of 3.2 runs per game. The Leafs used opportunistic hitting to surpass that mark, with first baseman Jordan Castaldo homering twice, including a game-winning swat.
On the mound, Luis Florentino and Nathan Currah combined to give up two runs off ten hits over seven innings. Dustin Richardson closed out the game by striking out four batters over two innings, presenting further evidence of his return to dominance.
Over seven innings, the game was close.
In the first inning, Florentino served up a solo homer to Jonah Weisner.
In the second inning, a sac fly off the bat of right fielder Dennis Dei Baning tied the game 1-1.
Bottom of four, Weisner was back in the mix. He led off with a single, ended up on third after a wild pitch and another single, then scored on a double play. 2-1 Welland through four.
Euclides Leyer pitched the first five innings for Welland, then handed the ball to Ben Abram to start the sixth. The first batter he faced was Castaldo, who took two balls then launched a high one over the fence in center. 2-2 through six.
Florentino was relieved by Currah after five. The rookie pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh.
Top of the eighth, with one Leaf on and one out, the Jackfish went to their closer Deivy Mendez. Once again, the first batter he would face was Castaldo. Once again, Castaldo stepped to the plate in his usual deliberate fashion and took two balls. Once again, Castaldo stunned the raucus ballpark into silence by blasting a home run. This one sailed past the scoreboard in left, scoring two runs and putting the Leafs ahead 4-2.
Currah returned to start the bottom of the eighth but got into a jam by giving up a pair of singles. As the setting sun cast long shadows over the entire field, a taller, darker shadow fell upon the pitcher's mound. Dustin Richardson entered the game tasked with getting six outs.
Richardson battled Matteo Porcellato in a seven-pitch at-bat before striking him out. The next two batters flied out to end the threat.
Mendez was not his old self. In the top of the ninth, he gave up a double to Dei Baning, then watched as second baseman Spenser Ross dropped a bunt that catcher Robert Mullen could not field in time. With Dei Baning on third, DH Jhon Javier hit a sac fly to bring him home and make it 5-2 Leafs.
Bottom of the ninth, three outs from a Leafs win in hostile territory. Richardson returned to the mound and the Jackfish put two men aboard, courtesy of a walk and a single. That just made him mad. He struck out the next three batters in a row to end the game and earn his second save of the year. Currah was on the winning end of the 5-2 FINAL, while Abram took the loss.
Toronto 5 8 1
Welland 2 11 0
W - Currah (1-0, 5.62)
L - Abram (2-2, 4.22)
S - Richardson (2)
Sunday, June 22, 2025 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Hamilton Cardinals
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| Two Leafs Legends Reunited: Former Leaf Johnathan Solazzo exchanges greetings with Jordan Castaldo following a second-inning walk. (image: Cable 14 Hamilton) |
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished their weekend road trip in Hamilton on the hottest day of the year.
Their week-long hot streak continued as they ended up cruising back down the mountain with an 8-1 victory in the books.
The gametime temperature at Bernie Arbour Stadium was reportedly 32 C, and even hotter on the field with nowhere to hide.
The Cardinals put on their usual fan-friendly spectacle, with lots of pregame hoopla, including a souvenir train whistle giveaway in honour of third baseman Johnathan "The Conductor" Solazzo.
It was also a throwback day. The Cardinals switched to one of their old monikers, the Thunderbirds, and took to the field wearing sleveless uniforms reminiscent of the one made famous by Cincinnati Reds slugger Ted Kluszewski.
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| Ted Kluszewski. (image: Topps, 1957) |
Sun's out, guns out.
As the game got underway, the players on both teams jointly faced an additional opponent in the brutal heat.
"It was incredibly hot," said Leafs starter Adam Jafine. "Not the easiest to pitch in but however tough it was for us, it was equally as tough for the hitters."
Jafine, whose jersey became soaked through as the game went on, put on a clinic. Over four innings, he scattered two hits and three walks and kept Hamilton off the board.
"It was fun to pitch and our guys playing clean baseball made it even better," Jafine added.
The guys gave their starter a lead before he even took the mound. In the top of the first inning, Leafs first baseman Jordan Castaldo drew a walk off starter Corben Peters. The next man up, right fielder Marcus Knecht, hit a flyball that kept carrying all the way over the centerfield fence. The Leafs went ahead 2-0 and never relinquished the lead.
In the top of the fifth, third baseman Ryan Dos Santos drew a two-out walk, stole second base, and scored on an RBI single by catcher Jhon Javier. 3-0 Leafs midway through the fifth.
After four sweltering innings and 71 pitches, Jafine's day was done. Drew Howard relieved him to start the bottom of the fifth. Taking his cue from the starter, he also kept the home side in check while battling the heat.
"The main difference was just trying to work quick to get the team back in the dugout shade and out of the sun," Howard explained his approach. "As for affecting the pitches it didn't make a huge difference other than tiring a little quicker. I played in Florida for a couple of years so I got used to pitching in those hotter conditions."
Howard faced adversity right from the get-go. Hamilton catcher July Vittini smacked his first pitch deep to left field. Dennis Dei Baning collided with the fence trying to make the catch. By the time the ball got back to the infield, Vittini stood at third base. Tyler Duncan hit a chopper towards first that Howard fielded himself for the out, but Vittini scored.
From that moment on, Howard climbed into the fridge and slammed the door shut behind him. He kept his cool and kept the Thunderbirds from scoring anything else, all the way through the end of the eighth inning.
In the seventh, Castaldo put three more runs on the board with his 103rd IBL home run.
Hamilton ended up using four pitchers on the day. Casey Bouillere-Howard pitched a scoreless eighth but seemed to melt in the ninth. He gave up three straight singles then walked in a run. Another run scored when pinch hitter Spencer MacInnis hit into a fielder's choice. That made it an 8-1 game.
For the bottom of the ninth, the stadium announcer, the Cable 14 broadcast team, and the IBL website all believe that Taylor Lepard came in to pitch. He was not even in Hamilton. It was Alex Uher who took the mound for Toronto to close things out. The Thunderbirds mustered a single and nothing more. Uher struck out the last batter swinging to seal the 8-1 FINAL.
It was Howard's first IBL win. Peters took the loss, and everyone took to cooler confines.
Toronto 8 10 2
Hamilton 1 6 0
W - Howard (1-1, 6.92)
L - Peters (2-1, 3.00)
That solstice weekend was very satisfying.
With a 10-7 record, the Leafs are tied with Chatham-Kent for third place in the IBL standings. They are 2 1/2 games behind the first place Welland Jackfish. The upcoming schedule sees them return to Christie Pits for a pair of night games before heading off on another challenging weekend road trip.
The week ahead:
Wednesday, June 25 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits (rescheduled rainout)
Friday, June 27 - Guelph Royals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
Saturday, June 28 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Guelph Royals, 7:30 pm at Hastings Stadium
Sunday, June 29 - Toronto Maple Leafs at London Majors, 1:05 pm at Labatt Park
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