On the Christie Hillside: Hot in the City

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 24 to 30, 2023

The Leafs won the only game they played in a rain-shortened Week 11 in the IBL season.

Johnathan Solazzo salutes the Bushmen of Christie Pits after hitting a mammoth home run on Sunday afternoon.

It's been hot in the city. It's been wet in the city.

Rainouts were the story in Week 11 of this IBL season. Two of the Toronto Maple Leafs' three scheduled games were washed away.

Add those two to a bunch of recent games have been rescheduled by the will of Mother Nature. Five games from July are being carried over into August. The rejigged Leafs schedule includes the following new dates:

Tuesday, August 1 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers, 7:30 pm at Jack Couch Park

Wednesday, August 2 - Barrie Baycats vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits

Monday, August 7 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox, 2:00 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium

Saturday, August 12 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish, 7:15 pm at Welland Stadium

Tuesday, August 15 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits.

The Mapes won the one game that they were able to play, beating the Hamilton Cardinals on Sunday. More on that below, as we review a very short Week 11.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 - Kitchener Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs

and

Saturday, July 29, 2023 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish

BOTH OF THESE GAMES WERE RAINED OUT AND WILL BE PLAYED IN AUGUST.

Sunday, July 30, 2023 - Hamilton Cardinals at Toronto Maple Leafs

Dustin Richardson, Toronto's own Undertaker, prepares to send another man to the grave, I mean to the bench.

Sunny skies and winning ways returned to Christie Pits on Sunday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs moved up to fourth place in the standings with a convincing 9-5 win over the slumping Hamilton Cardinals.

Daniel Procopio delivered another strong performance on the mound, giving up just one run over four innings while striking out seven.

It was a game of familiar performances by many Leafs players, starting with leadoff man Jose Vinicio. The speedy shortstop opened the game with a single off starter Colby Ring. He followed that with his trademark double steal of both second and third. A sacrifice fly by first baseman Jordan Castaldo brought Vinicio home with the first run of the game.

In the top of the second, An RBI double by Hamilton's Laine Renaud tied the game at one.

Bottom of the same inning, DH Garrett Takamatsu reminded everyone that he is Garrett Takamatsu, swatting a solo home run to put the Leafs ahead 2-1.

Julian Valdez took over on the mound to start the fifth inning, and a home run by Cardinal Tyler Duncan tied the game again, 2-2.

The Cards threatened again in the top of the sixth inning, when Connor Bowie doubled and moved to third with one out. He was caught napping and erased by a lightning throw to the bag by catcher Justin Marra. Johnathan Solazzo applied the tag, Bowie was out, and the Pits whooped it up.

In the bottom of the sixth, left fielder Jesse Hodges drew a walk to start the inning, moved to second on a single by second baseman Dan Marra, and moved to third when right fielder J.J. Dutton hit into a fielder's choice that eliminated Marra at second. One pitch later, Dutton stole second. The throw from catcher Luis Bernardo sailed into centerfield, allowing Hodges to trot home and make it a 3-2 Leafs lead through six.

Sam Greene pitched a clean sheet in the seventh for Toronto.

In the later innings, the Leafs put the game away. In the bottom of the seventh, third baseman Solazzo crushed a mammoth three-run home run into the infield of the diamond opposite from Dominico Field. Luckily none of the little leaguers over there got skulled. 6-2 Leafs through seven.

Evan Elliott and Dustin Richardson combined to get through the top of the eighth before the Leafs added three more runs off five hits in the bottom of the inning. Castaldo singled to drive in his second run of the day. Solazzo singled in his fourth of the day, and pinch hitter Aidan McAskie hit an RBI single to make it a 9-2 game.

As the game approached its denouement, some birdsong arose from the Hamilton bench, whose batters had been plunked three times in the eighth inning. Leafs closer Richardson took note of the chirping, finished the inning and delivered some pointed glances as he walked off the field.

Richardson returned to the mound for the ninth. The Cardinals scraped out three runs but went down swinging to end the game. The chirping continued, so Richardson directed some devastating comments to the Hamilton bench. He went straight for the jugular, declaring the french fries at Bernie Arbour Stadium the worst in the IBL.*

"Your ballpark french fries are so bad it's like eating deep fried cardboard," Richardson jeered.

Stung by the truth of Richardson's declaration, the Cardinals half-heartedly stepped forward from their bench.

Leafs centerfielder Connor Lewis delivered the decisive blow in the discussion.

"Your fries are inedible, INEDIBLE!" His words rang all around the ballpark. There was no coming back from that. The beating was complete. Heads down, the Cardinals shuffled to their clubhouse.

For his part, Valdez took the win and Richardson got a save. If, as things are looking, these two clubs remain where they are in the standings, they could be on a first round postseason collision course.

* It's true. Bernie Arbour Stadium used to have the best fries in the IBL, delicious golden slices of heaven supplied by local institution Hutch's. Those fries were a highlight for visiting fans. Having switched suppliers, the Cardinals have gone from first to worst in the IBL among connoisseurs of ballpark fare, as your humble correspondent and part-time food writer can confirm. It's a tragic state of affairs.

Hamilton 5 12 2

Toronto 9 15 1

W - Valdez (2-5, 7.57)

L - Ring (3-5, 5.12)

S - Richardson (1)

BOXSCORE