Majors win 6-2
It began with a storm and ended with a storm.
In between, the Toronto Maple Leafs fell behind and couldn't come back against the London Majors yesterday, ultimately losing 6-2.
Marek Deska had barely thrown a pitch for the V-necks before rain started falling on Christie Pits. He retired the side and joined his teammates as they huddled under the blue cover above the Leafs bench.
The Leafs had a man aboard in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a single by catcher Justin Marra. The rain then started pelting down hard enough for the home plate ump to halt the game. The players, coaches and umps headed for the clubhouse while fans, dogs and everyone else took cover from the downpour wherever they could. With no umbrella or jacket, I made the acquaintance of a thick clump of trees on the east slope of the Pits.
The downpour lasted ten minutes, and it took another twenty to restore the infield to playable condition. Play resumed after a short warmup.
Majors starter Murilo Gouvea got out of the inning and proceeded to frustrate the Leafs over seven shutout innings.
All around the Pits everyone seemed frustrated, edgy. Maybe it was getting caught in the rain, maybe it was the hot sun that pounded down for the rest of the afternoon, but everyone around the field seemed to be in a less than glowing mood. The Christie Crazies were making an ungodly racket. The umps were making calls that did not go down well with some of the players. Batters were getting plunked. It seems at least once a year there's a game at the Pits where everything feels off like this.
London scored a run in the fourth. They added three more in the fifth. The Leafs we unable to respond as the innings ticked by.
In the top of the ninth, the Majors put two more runs on the board and something finally had to give. A disputed call at first resulted in two Leaf ejections, and Julian Johnson and Justin Marra left the field (above). The resulting shift of players and substitutes saw manager Damon Topolie taking up the tools of ignorance to finish off the inning. Another rare scene, as if his "Psychedelic Sunday" socks weren't already providing some trippy visuals.
The stage was set for a Christie comeback in the bottom of the ninth and the Leafs responded. Adam Odd and Greg Carrington (hitting for Johnson) led off with singles. Dan Marra loaded them up with another single. Daniel Szpik stepped up to the plate and delivered the fourth single in a row, cashing in Odd. A sac fly by Connor Lewis scored Carrington, but that would be all as Curtis Johnson finished off the inning and sealed a 6-2 final for Los Majores.
So there it goes, the one weird game of the season. Deska got the loss and Gouvea the win. The Leafs drop their third in a row and will have a few days to regroup.
London 6-13-0
Toronto 2-7-1
W - Gouvea (3-1, 0.71)
L - Deska (1-2, 3.06)
BOXSCORE
The Leafs continue to sit at 4th place in the IBL standings with a 10-12 record. Their next game is Thursday, July 6 at Coates Stadium in the great northern wilderness against the Barrie Baycats.
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