Leafs Romp in Home Opener

Game 1: London Majors at Toronto Maple Leafs, May 6, 2018

Leafs win 10-7

Eyes glaring, nostrils flaring -- the Toronto Maple Leafs burst out of the gate like race horses, lapped the field, and trotted to a statement victory yesterday afternoon at Christie Pits.

It was a partly cloudy day in Toronto as the Leafs kicked off their 50th season. Before the main derby, the crowd was treated to a parade of thoroughbreds. MLB legends John Mayberry, Ferguson Jenkins, Gaylord Perry and Luis Tiant tossed ceremonial pitches, hobnobbed with fans and signed autographs as part of the opening ceremonies.

The opening day lineups were then presented, featuring newcomers Marcus Knecht in right field and Mike Reeves behind the plate for the home nine.

Zac Sloan pitched a scoreless top of the first against the London Majors. He then left the mound to his counterpart Joan Montero, who was promptly trampled.

The Leafs raced out to a 7-0 lead off of five hits and two errors. Eleven men came to the plate. Reeves drove in a pair, third baseman Johnathan Solazzo drove in one, and the exclamation point was a three-run home run by first baseman Julian Johnson.

Montero lasted just two innings. He was relieved by Starling Peralta who proved even wilder, uncorking three wild pitches over four innings of work. He allowed Knecht to score on a passed ball in the fourth, and Reeves scored again in the sixth thanks to the London hurler's wildness.

Sloan meanwhile cruised through five shutout innings. He gave up just one hit while striking out four and walking four. When he left after five, the Leafs enjoyed an 8-0 lead.

The Majors woke up in the top of the sixth. They tagged newcomer Abul Salman -- a southpaw like Sloan -- for three runs off two hits and two walks.

Marek Deska finished up the sixth for Salman, then returned for the seventh. After giving up a leadoff walk and a single, he served up a three-run homer to London shortstop Edward Salcedo. That made it a 9-6 score after seven innings. The Leafs were still ahead, but the Majors were making up lengths.

Pedro De Los Santos came in from the bullpen to pitch the eighth. A three-up, three-down inning settled everyone down again.

Solazzo added an "insurance" run in the bottom of the 8th when he hit a tater off Robert Doyle. That made it a 10-6 game and De Los Santos returned to the mound to finish the game. 

And down the stretch they came. De Los Santos' family cheered him on from behind the Leafs' bench, and the fans on the slopes got treated to a heart-knocking finish. Two walks, two wild pitches, a fielding error and a passed ball led to another London run, but De Los Santos got catcher Michael Ambrose to strike out swinging for out number three. The Leafs crossed the line with a 10-7 FINAL score and added a winner's wreath to their flashy 50th anniversary hat patches. And with that, I have used up all horse racing metaphors for the year. Next week I might try fencing or water polo.

Life is made sweeter with an opening day winner. Despite a few raindrops coming down late in the afternoon, the home victory put smiles on all hometown faces. Hoots and clatter rang out for the first place boys of Christie Pits.

I'm not a "Three Stars of the Game" type, but three positive takeaways from the first game of the season:

- After serving up the game-winning home run in last year's playoff elimination game, Zac Sloan got right back on his horse (sorry) and pitched five scoreless.

- Julian Johnson and Johnathan Solazzo launched their first bombs of the season.

- Mike Reeves showed leadership behind the plate, and player-manager Damon Topolie ran a smooth game while DHing.


London 6-5-3
Toronto 10-11-0

W - Sloan (1-0, 0.00)
L - Montero (0-1, 0.00)
S - De Los Santos (1)

BOXSCORE
The Leafs will travel to London this Friday night to face these same Majors at their home opener at Labatt Memorial Park.