Deska Delivers

Game 9: Toronto Maple Leafs at Guelph Royals, June 2, 2018

Leafs win 11-8

Some welcome sights around Hastings Stadium in Guelph yesterday.

A packed parking lot, buzzing grandstand, and fans all over the park there to see the day's action.

First off, the very fact of being in Guelph. The Royals, one of the IBL's charter franchises, folded mid-season last year. Over the winter, they regrouped with a new organization and many familiar faces. Great to see Sean Reilly, Josh Garton, Justin Interisano and Coach Tebo return to their familiar blue and whites.

From a Toronto Maple Leafs perspective, it was great to see the club return to the win column.

Catcher Justin Marra wasted no time establishing the tone of the day in the first inning, hitting a screaming laser home run over the fence in right.

The Leafs doubled their lead in the second inning. First baseman Garrett Takamatsu drew a walk, then advanced to second on a groundout. Rightfielder Greg Carrington drove Takamatsu in with a single and that gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead through two.

On the mound for Toronto, Marek Deska (above) pitched like a man who ate three hot dogs an hour before the game. Efficiency, craft, and quick outs. He faced the minimum through three perfect innings to start the game.

In the top of the fourth, the Leafs doubled their lead again. A single by shortstop Adam Odd was followed by a fielder's choice that left Carrington on first base. A single by centerfielder Connor Lewis moved Carrington to third, and two errors and a wild pitch later, both runners scored to make it 4-0 for the visitors.

The heart of the Guelph order managed to put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth, making it a 4-2 game. The score would remain that way through seven innings.

After that brief wobble in the fourth, Deska resumed pitching like a man who needed to be somewhere else. He wrapped up his day after seven, having given up just two runs off of six hits and two walks. That earned him a warm greeting as he left the field.

As the sun finally peeked through the clouds, the bullpens took over for the final two innings. Things suddenly slowed down and got heavy.

In the top of the eighth, leftfielder Grant Tamane walked and DH Mike Reeves singled. Justin Marra was then walked intentionally to load the bases. That brought third baseman Johnathan Solazzo to the plate, and he promptly singled to drive in two. Second baseman Dan Marra followed with a double that scored another run and the Leafs enjoyed a 7-2 lead.

As fans started to fold their chairs and make for the exit gate, the Royals battled back. Jackson Jones took over for Deska to start the bottom of the eighth. He proceeded to walk four batters in a row, gifting one run to the Royals. Manager Damon Topolie called for Andrew Simonetti from the bullpen. Simonetti battled his way out of the inning, but not before three more runs crossed the plate to make it a 7-6 ballgame.

It seemed like the momentum had swung behind Guelph, but disaster befell them in the top of the ninth. Reliever Ben Reid opened the inning by walking Odd, then giving up singles to Carrington and Lewis. He then walked Tamane, which allowed Odd to trot home with a run. Daniel Marquez replaced Reid on the mound and he got Reeves to ground out, but Carrington scored on the play. Justin Marra followed with a single that scored Lewis and put Tamane on third. That brought Solazzo to the plate, and he struck out. However, the ball momentarily got away from Guelph catcher (and former Leaf) Brendan Keys. As Solazzo took off for first, Keys looked at Tamane, then fired to first. The ball sailed for an error and Tamane raced home with another run, making it an 11-6 lead for Toronto.

Simonetti returned to the mound for the bottom of the ninth with a comfy five run lead, but the Royals were going to go down swinging. And swing they did. Garton led off by launching Simonetti's first pitch over the fence in center right. Reilly followed by smashing another homer to the same spot. Unfazed, Simonetti hunkered down and recorded the next three outs in order, and slammed the door shut on an 11-8 FINAL for the Leafs.

After surviving a barrage from the Royals, Simonetti emerged with his second save of the season, giving Deska his first win.

Carrington had the hottest bat of the day for Toronto, going 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Solazzo drove in a pair, and Tamane, Reeves, Justin Marra and Dan Marra each drove in one.


Toronto 11-14-1
Guelph 8-10-4

W - Deska (1-0, 3.64)
L - Yambatis (1-1, 2.70)
S - Simonetti (2)


BOXSCORE


These two clubs will face each other again this afternoon at Christie Pits.