Demise of the Dinosaurs

Game 6: Toronto Maple Leafs at Burlington Herd, May 26, 2018

Leafs win 6-3

It was a throwback game of a different sort yesterday in Burlington.

At Nelson Park, they proclaimed it Dino Day, promising a pair of marauding T-Rexes and a dino-themed bouncy castle. The castle never materialized -- perhaps due to a forecast of possible thunderstorms. However, "Rex" and "Tammy" made a sensational appearance midway through the game, terrorizing small children and running a race around the bases between innings.

Presumably, the nine Herd players on the field were meant to represent a herd of dinos for the day.

And, like the actual dinosaurs, they were obliterated by a devastating force out of their control.

That would be the Toronto Maple Leafs, who rained home runs like meteors on the ballpark.

The tone was set in the first inning. Mike Reeves, playing second base and leading off, launched a home run over the fence in right field to give the visitors an instant lead.

In the fourth inning, DH Damon Topolie (above) mashed his first tater of the season -- a two-run shot that made it 3-0 for Toronto.

Finally, in the top of the sixth, third baseman Johnathan Solazzo smashed another two-run home run so hard it left a contrail streaming over center-left. Solazzo's blast turned out to be a game winner, as the Leafs rode out to a 6-3 FINAL victory.

Centerfielder Connor Lewis scored Toronto's sixth run of the game in the top of the ninth, capping off a three-hit day that raised his batting average to .429.

Starting on the mound for the Mapes was Pedro De Los Santos. Clearly unfazed by prehistoric monsters, he pitched six innings and held Burlington to three unearned runs en route to his first win of the season.

Any thoughts of a hometown comeback were crushed by a dominant relief performance from Marek Deska, who pitched three scorching innings. Deska struck out six and surrendered just two hits for a classic three-inning save.


Toronto 6-13-2
Burlington 3-8-1

W - De Los Santos (1-0, 1.97)
L - Boatto (0-2, 3.85)
S - Deska (1)


BOXSCORE


The 5-1 Leafs return to Christie Pits this afternoon to take on the Hamilton Cardinals.