Majors win 5-3
Weird day at the Pits. Hot, sluggish.
The park is jam-packed with people enjoying a Sunday afternoon. Sunbathers and picnickers. Frisbees and soccer balls. Kids and dogs.
Something feels off, though.
Why isn't that pool open? Something in the water?
Apparently they are still working on it. Soon come pool.
At the diamond, the "off" feelings resonate strongest. All the familiar faces are there. The crazies encircling the infield, the old man on the hill, the owner in his box.
The game starts, and time accelerates. The London Majors jump out to an early lead in the first. They add another run in the second. The Leafs have barely gotten into it. The owner starts hurling thunderbolts like Zeus from Mount Olympus.
Weird game. There's no clock in baseball, but the innings speed by. The Leafs wait until the eighth and ninth before putting some runs on the board, but by this point it's too late. The game is over, London has won 5-3, but it feels like things had barely gotten started.
Even this entry is weird. Take that photo above -- Dan Marra, bending down to tag out a basestealer. That was in the ninth inning, when things already felt decided and the play didn't make any difference to the score.
But there's Marra in a classic pose, bent down with the quiet calm of a man plucking a weed from his garden. I like the image.
Wait, is that Drew Taylor warming up in the pen?
Maybe this whole day was a dream. Maybe it's time to WAKE UP!
Game Recap:
A hot and partly cloudy afternoon saw the Toronto Maple Leafs host the London Majors at Christie Pits. Justin Cicatello was on the mound for Toronto against Elis Jimenez.
The first two innings set the pace for London. Centerfielder Chris McQueen led off the top of the 1st with a walk. Cicatello then hit shortstop Keith Kandel with a pitch. Both runners advanced on a double steal, and a single by catcher Michael Ambrose drove in McQueen. First baseman Cleveland Brownlee was up next, and he singled in Kandel. Rightfielder LeJon Baker then grounded into a double play, but Ambrose crossed home plate to make it 3-0 Majors after one.
In the top of the 2nd, third baseman Carlos Arteaga reached first on a single, then advanced two bases on a throwing error by Cicatello. A single by second baseman RJ Fuhr drove in Arteaga and it was 4-0 Majors after two.
Jimenez made short work of the Leafs' bats on the afternoon, holding them to five hits over the first seven innings. The home side missed their best opportunity of the day in the bottom of the 5th when they loaded the bases with none out. Jimenez then struck out two batters and escaped the inning on a groundout.
London tacked on one more run in the top of the 8th. McQueen reached first safely, on Cicatello's second error of the day. That was followed by a single by Kandel. The Majors attempted another double steal, but McQueen got caught in a rundown and was eventually tagged out by third baseman Grant Tamane. With Kandel standing on second, Brownlee drove him in again with his third single of the day. That made it 5-0 Majors midway through the 8th.
The Leafs offence finally cracked Jimenez in the bottom of the 8th. Centerfielder Connor Lewis led off with a single and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Tamane. He moved to third on a put out by DH Jon Waltenbury, and scored on an RBI single by catcher Justin Marra. 5-1 London through eight.
David Ertl relieved Cicatello and pitched a scoreless 9th for Toronto.
Cory Hammond came in to close it down for London in the bottom of the 9th, but not before the Leafs mounted a late rally. Second baseman Dan Marra singled to start the inning. First baseman Damon Topolie drew a walk, and Matt Blair-Brown took his place at first as a pinch runner. Leftfielder Brendan Keys then singled, and Marra stormed home when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. Blair-Brown moved to third on the play, and he raced home on a wild pitch by Hammond. But there would be no magical comeback this day, as London wrapped it up for a 5-3 FINAL.
London 5-12-2
Toronto 3-9-2
W - Jimenez (6-1, 2.97)
L - Cicatello (3-4, 5.43)
BOXSCORE
The loss drops the Maple Leafs back to .500 with a 15-15 record, good for 5th place in the IBL standings. They will return to the Pits this Wednesday night, July 20, to play a rainout makeup game against the Burlington Bandits.
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