On the Christie Hillside: So Long and Welcome Back

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - August 1 to 7, 2022

Week 12 saw the rookie class of '22 head back to school as the big-hitting veterans return to the fore for the Leafs.

Slugger Marcus Knecht returned to Christie Pits this week and picked up right where he left off.

This was a transitional week for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

At the start of the season, manager Damon Topolie plugged the roster holes that were left by departed, injured or otherwise absent players with a crew of rookies. From the get-go, the youngsters provided spark and proved that they could go toe-to-toe in the IBL.

At the plate, Luca Boscarino, Brady Cerkownyk, Aidan McAskie and others made timely hits and put up impressive numbers.

On the mound, Diego Dominguez, Rhys Montgomery, Ryan Wells and others got key outs and ate up valuable innings.

The rookie class of 2022 made an impression and will long be remembered. Sadly, their time at Christie Pits came to an end at the start of August. Most of the rooks headed south, back to school.

Topolie now turns to his veterans to lead the way into the postseason and conclude the club's unfinished business with a championship.

The timing was perfect for the return of some players who had minor injuries. More importantly, this week marked the return of slugger Marcus Knecht. In his first game of the season, Knecht picked up right where he left off, hitting a game-winning home run and lighting up the Pits on Wednesday night.

The Leafs lost a couple of tough games after that, but the final pieces are slotting into place for the postseason, now just a couple of weeks away.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 - Kitchener Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs

Dustin Richardson resumed his funerary duties by laying the Kitchener Panthers to rest in the ninth inning of a slugfest.

Marcus Knecht strolls to the plate with the quiet air of a holy man. He takes his stance, turns to the pitcher and points his bat as if lifting a torch to light a towering bonfire. He brings the bat back, and waits.

Ball, ball, called strike, called strike. When the moment is ready, he swings.

With a crack that shoots lightning through the drizzly night air, the ball is launched high in the sky and sails out of view to its final resting place in the skatepark.

Dustin Richardson strolls to the mound with the quiet air of the grim reaper. He asserts himself with calm ferocity, deceiving, disrupting, and dispatching his opponents.

K swinging. Grounder to short. K looking, goodnight kid.

Game over. Leafs win. Everybody slaps hands and ducks out of the rain.

These were the closing scenes on a sticky night at Christie Pits. Dark clouds had loomed over the park all evening. Rain drops finally started coming down during the final innings of an epic battle between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kitchener Panthers.

It was one of those nights when both clubs took turns whaling on each other, racking up 31 hits and exchanging the lead four times.

Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo, DH Knecht and first baseman Damon Topolie each got three hits. Solazzo and centerfielder Connor Lewis got four RBI's apiece. Knecht, Lewis and right fielder Gregory Carrington each scored three times.

Lewis hit a beauty of a home run -- his first of the season -- to account for three of his runs-driven-in.

The game was a slugfest in every sense. After seven innings, the score was deadlocked at 14-14. Back and forth with the lead changes, pitchers getting clobbered, batters klouting in runs all night.

It all set the stage for Knecht's homer in the 8th inning, as his rain-kissed moonshot put the Leafs ahead for good.

Richardson lay the Panthers to rest in the 9th and secured the 16-14 FINAL in front of a well-moistened crowd. Long live the Wednesday nighters!

Kitchener 14 15 4

Toronto 16 16 1

W - Greene (1-1, 4.32)

L - Shantz (1-1, 8.10)

S - Richardson (2)

BOXSCORE

Some pix from the Wednesday nighter.

Friday, August 5, 2022 - Toronto Maple Leafs at London Majors

Gregory Carrington scores the Leafs first run of the night, too late to overcome the Majors at Labatt Park. (Image: London Majors YouTube)

This summer's latest heat wave continued to roll across the province on Friday, and the Maple Leafs melted under it.

Facing the London Majors at Labatt Park, the Leafs' power quad of Marra-Castaldo-Solazzo-Knecht went a collective 4-for-16 with zero RBIs.

Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo recorded the team's only extra-base hit, a double in the 4th inning.

By then, the Leafs and starter Angel Castro were already down 4-0. London added another run in the bottom of the 5th. Starter Fernando Fernandez went five before turning it over to the Majors' bullpen.

The Leafs were held off the board until the 8th inning. Feeling the heat, the Majors committed two errors and loaded the bases. Left fielder Gregory Carrington and catcher Justin Marra both hit singles, with Carrington and shortstop Jose Vinicio scoring the visitors' only runs of the game.

London tacked on a pair against reliever Dustin Richardson in the bottom of the 8th, and went on to win a 7-2 FINAL.

Toronto 2 8 2

London 7 11 2

W - Fernandez (2-1, 3.91)

L - Castro (2-4, 7.34)

BOXSCORE

Sunday, August 7, 2022 - Hamilton Cardinals at Toronto Maple Leafs

Starter Sam Greene took to the mound on Sunday looking to continue his streak of dominant outings.

Late Sunday afternoon, after the Toronto Maple Leafs had been out-executed by the Hamilton Cardinals in a losing effort, the sound of shattering glass could be heard coming from inside the Leafs' clubhouse.

A barrage of wine bottles was being hurled against the wall, Skipper Damon Topolie's wordless way of telling his players to figure it out.*

As a humid, sluggish afternoon had dragged on, fans who braved the brutal heat kept glancing at the scoreboard and wondering why the Leafs weren't winning a blowout. The home side seemed to have runners on base every inning, but struggled to cash them in. That was the story of the game as the Leafs lost 5-2.

Things started well for the boys, and especially for Sam Greene. The starter entered the game having retired 11 batters in a row over his last three appearances. Through the first two innings, he extended the streak to 17 batters in a row -- the equivalent of taking a perfect game into the 6th inning. The streak ended in the top of the 3rd when Greene walked a batter.

After stranding five baserunners in the first two innings, the Leafs broke through in the third. Right fielder Marcus Knecht drew a walk, advanced to second on a groundout, then came around to score on a booming RBI single by centerfielder Connor Lewis. 1-0 Leafs through three innings.

In the top of the 4th, Greene gave up his first hit in almost a month. Luis Jean singled, then moved to third on a single by Tyler Duncan. The Cardinals then attempted a delayed double steal. Duncan broke for second and Jean trotted home when catcher Justin Marra's throw sailed high over second baseman Grant Tamane. That tied the game 1-1.

The Leafs retook the lead in the bottom of the 4th. Left fielder Gregory Carrington and shortstop Jose Vinicio both singled, and Carrington scored on an RBI single by Marra. 2-1 Leafs through four.

Shoutout to third baseman Johnathan Solazzo, who chases foul balls over the third base side like a maniac. At least once every few weeks he collides with the fence there, and it happened again on Sunday. Sometimes the fence wins and he goes head over heels, sometimes its a draw, but one of these times Solazzo is going to run right through the damn thing and I hope my camera is there to capture the fence's moment of annihilation.

George W. Bush famously said: "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.” Whatever. Anyway, in the top of the 5th, the Cardinals attempted another delayed double steal, and they scored again. It was part of a three-run inning that ended up hanging an unlucky L beside Greene's name. Reliever Adam Marra was victim of the double steal, and he also gave up an RBI single that put the visitors ahead 4-2 through five.

Chris Nagorski put a hold on things by pitching two scoreless innings. All told, Leaf pitchers recorded 14 K's on the day but Hamilton made the most of their chances.

The Hamiltonians added one more run in the 8th, hitting a pair of doubles off Franklin Hernandez. By that point, the Leafs had squandered multiple opportunities and stranded a total of 10 runners on base. The visitors finished off a 5-2 FINAL and soon after that the wine bottles began to fly.**

* My hearing is not the best and I am very likely totally mistaken in all of this.

** I think?

Hamilton 5 8 1

Toronto 2 9 2

W - Turcotte (1-5, 9.16)

L - Greene (1-2, 4.71)

S - Fernandez (1)

BOXSCORE