A Perfectly Good Night, Ruined

Game 12: Toronto Maple Leafs at London Majors, June 8, 2018

Majors win 11-8

A hot, sunny Friday afternoon gave way to a warm, windless evening. Lots of parking and plenty of good seats at the ballpark, with two hot teams ready to go at it. It was a perfect night for baseball at Labatt Memorial Park.

The only sour note was the Toronto Maple Leafs being handed an "L" by the London Majors. It was a perfectly good night, ruined.

The Leafs continued their hard-hitting ways as established in the first month of the season. They racked up nine hits against the Majors, and five of them were doubles -- three by Garrett Takamatsu and two by the team's OBP monster Grant Tamane. The team put eight runs on the board, but ended up getting outscored 11-8 by the home side.

The Majors jumped on Marek Deska for six runs off eight hits, and ended his night after four innings. It was Deska's first loss of the season.

Both clubs opened the first inning with a run. Catcher Justin Marra notched his league-leading 18th RBI, while Byron Reichstein hit a solo home run, his first of two on the night. 1-1 through one.

Toronto grabbed a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth, courtesy of a two-run single by manager Damon Topolie, who was also playing right field.

London seized control of the game in the bottom of the fourth. They hit a stream of flares that turned into a flood. Six hits on the inning and five runs across the plate to take a 6-3 lead.

Jackson Jones relieved Deska in the bottom of the fifth and the Majors tagged him for two more runs for an 8-3 lead.

Takamatsu and Topolie each drove in a run in the top of the sixth to make it an 8-5 ballgame.

London got those two runs right back in the bottom of the sixth, and Jones was relieved by Adam Marra. It was 10-5 London through six.

London added another run in the eighth to make it 11-5.

Throughout the season, the Leafs have shown a no-quit attitude. Instead of hitting the highway, they battled back in the ninth. Takamatsu led off with his third double of the night, then moved to third on a wild pitch. After a couple of strikeouts, DH Mike Cecchetto drew a walk. Centerfielder Connor Lewis followed with an RBI single to score Takamatsu. Tamane then hit his second double of the game to drive in Cecchetto and Lewis. That would be all, however, as the Majors escaped with an 11-8 victory.


Toronto 8-9-1
London 11-15-0

W - Peralta (2-0, 2.76)
L - Deska (1-1, 6.06)


BOXSCORE


At 8-4, the Leafs sit in third place in the IBL standings. They return to Christie Pits this afternoon for a matchup against the Burlington Herd.