Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 17 to 23, 2023
The Leafs slugged their way to a win to wrap up a short Week 10 in the IBL season.
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| Jordan Castaldo bombs Bloor Street with a home run on a winning Sunday at Christie Pits. |
Losing streaks suck! They suuuuuck!
Every player and fan knows this. For the past week and more, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been losing in excruciating fashion. Three times, they lost in extra innings. A few plays that went the other way, and they might have had themselves a three-game win streak. Instead, the agony of defeat hung over the Leafs and their legion of Christie Crazies.
On a soggy Sunday this week, the Leafs finally slugged their way to victory. Agony ended.
As the season rolls on and the first thoughts of postseason baseball begin to germinate, it could be argued that these Leafs are playing a Very Maple Leaf Season.
They show flashes -- but not too many flashes -- of offensive firepower. They show flashes -- but not too many flashes -- of pitching wizardry. They win a few, lose a few, and their record at or around the .500 mark reflects that. It's the flashes that keep hope alive that these Leafs will go on to play a Very Maple Leaf Postseason, when all that firepower and wizardy go into Extreme Mode, and the Leafs go all the way to the IBL Championship Series for the third year in a row.
For now, here's the recap of Week 10 in Leafs baseball.
Saturday, July 22, 2023 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Guelph Royals
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| Justin Marra scrambles after an Evan Elliott pitch in vain, as Guelph scores the winning run in extras on Saturday night. (image: Guelph Royals YouTube) |
OOF.
Saturday night in Guelph, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost their third straight game in extra innings and extended their losing slide to four games.
It was looking well early on.
Starter Wilgenis Alvarado delivered another stud performance for the Leafs, giving up just two runs over six innings at Hastings Stadium.
The Leafs took an early lead in unconventional fashion. In the top of the second inning, centerfielder Connor Lewis drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on a single by second baseman Dan Marra, then trotted home on a wild pitch by Royals starter Hector Yan. 1-0 Leafs.
In the top of the fourth, the Leafs added a run. Two walks and a single loaded the bases. Yan then walked DH Garrett Takamatsu to bring in the Leafs second run of the game.
After Guelph tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Alvarado turned it over to the bullpen.
Chris Nagorski pitched a perfect seventh.
Dustin Richardson followed with two scoreless innings.
The game remained tied 2-2 after nine innings and it was on to extras.
The Leafs went down in order in the top of the tenth. Evan Elliott took over on the mound and Guelph's ghost runner Noah Roberts took his place at second base. A sacrifice bunt moved Roberts to third. The next pitch from Elliott would end the game, as it got past catcher Justin Marra. Roberts flew home with the winning run and the Leafs went down 3-2 in ten innings.
OOF.
Toronto 2 5 2
Guelph 3 2 0
W - Deans (1-0, 3.09)
L - Elliott (1-1, 0.00)
Sunday, July 23, 2023 - Brantford Red Sox at Toronto Maple Leafs
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| Daniel Procopio pitched an inning, waited out a rain delay, then pitched four more en route to his fourth win of the season. |
Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked to get over their four-game losing streak.
At first glance, seeing the lowly Brantford Red Sox (6-23) on the schedule might have been cause for optimism. As fate would have it, the team that arrived at Christie Pits was the suddenly hot and high-scoring Brantford Red Sox, coming off a pair of home wins in which they scored a total of 22 runs.
The Leafs and their fans suspected that the boys in blue would have to put a lot of runs on the board to get back in the win column.
As a wall of grey clouds approached the ballpark, starters Daniel Procopio and Danny Garcia traded scoreless innings to start the game. The umpiring crew chief then declared a pause. The grey clouds had arrived over the outfield, bringing with them the rumble and flash of a thunderstorm.
After a 45-minute delay, play resumed, and Procopio picked up where he left off. He and Garcia put goose eggs on the scoreboard in the second and third innings.
Brantford's fantastically stylish first baseman Nick Burdett drove in a run in the top of the fourth to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Toronto DH Jordan Castaldo crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to put the Leafs ahead 2-1. It was the opening shot in a four-RBI day for Castaldo.
The Red Sox reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs to make it 3-2.
The see-saw battle continued in the bottom of the fifth and this time the Mapes took the lead for good. Right fielder Ryan Santos hit an RBI double. Centerfielder Connor Lewis scored from third on a wild pitch. A single by shortstop Jose Vinicio scored Santos. It was the Lewis run that blew up the Brantford bench, which had been rolling and tumbling and muttering and chirping for most of the game. When the dust settled on the inning, Toronto led 5-3 and the visitors' bench had fewer people left on it.
In the sixth inning, the Leafs blew up the scoreboard. Eleven men came to the plate, racking up six runs off three hits, four walks and an error. First baseman Garrett Takamatsu, Lewis, Santos and Vinicio each recorded an RBI. Castaldo drove in a pair. A lot of runs were called for in this game, and the Leafs delivered, taking an 11-3 lead through six.
Julian Valdez pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings for Toronto.
Lewis added another RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to make it 12-3.
Adam Marra pitched a perfect eighth. The Red Sox scratched out a pair of runs off Zach Sloan in the ninth, but they could not handle the Leafs' firepower this day. Toronto won a 12-5 final and snapped their losing streak before a home crowd that was damp and diminished but happy with a win.
Brantford 5 8 2
Toronto 12 10 1
W - Procopio (4-1, 6.23)
L - Garcia (0-5, 12.39)
Ten weeks into the season, the Maple Leafs are 14-14 and tied with the Hamilton Cardinals for 4th place in the IBL standings. Both clubs are 8 1/2 games behind the Welland Jackfish.
The week ahead:
Wednesday, July 26 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
Saturday, July 29 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish, 6:05 pm at Welland Stadium
Sunday, July 30 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits
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