Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 3 to July 9, 2023
The Leafs took two of three as pitching dazzled and the bats went to work in Week 8 in the IBL.
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| Ryan Santos knocked his first homer of the season to help cap a win over Kitchener on Wednesday. |
Good pitching beats good hitting. A saying so old it was carved on the back of one of the tablets Moses lugged down from the mountain.
This week we saw three strong performances from Leafs starting pitching, a positive sign of things to come in the second half of the 2023 season.
First, there's Sam Greene. He began the week atop the Leafs' pitching leaderboard in several key categories, including innings pitched, wins and strikeouts. Wednesday night, he put in a gutsy performance, holding the high-powered Kitchener Panthers in check before one bad break cost him a decision.
Second, there's Wilgenis Alvarado. As the Venezuelan import settles into Canada and the IBL, he's been getting better with each outing. Saturday night, he blanked the top-scoring Welland Jackfish for eight innings, before he too was robbed of a win by one bad break.
Third, there's Daniel Procopio. Out of baseball a year ago, Procopio joined the Leafs on his own terms and yesterday he pitched his best game of the season. Over five and two-thirds innings, he fired 13 strikeouts against the Hamilton Cardinals en route to his third win of the season.
Three hot arms. That's a perfect set up for manager Rob Butler to contemplate as he begins to formulate his postseason plans. But those days are still half a season away. Plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the mound show that the Leafs bring to the ballpark every game.
And now here's the recap of Week 8 in Toronto Maple Leafs baseball.
Wednesday, July 5, 2023 - Kitchener Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs
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| Jordan Castaldo gets all the high fives after sending a solo shot over the fence at Christie Pits. |
Exclamation points!
Jordan Castaldo drove in the winning run, and he and Ryan Santos each homered to put a pair of exclamation points on an 11-7 victory by the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Kitchener Panthers.
The lead changed hands four times over the course of this Wednesday nighter that ended with a crowd-pleasing Christie comeback.
The first half of the game was a pitchers' duel between two of the IBL's best, Kitchener ace Christian Hauck and Sam Greene for the Leafs.
Hauck surrendered a first inning RBI single to DH Garrett Takamatsu, and Greene gave up a pair of runs in the second.
Kitchener held a 2-1 lead until the bottom of the fifth inning. Left fielder Aiden McAskie led off with a single, and Hauck got himself into a jam by walking the bases loaded. A wild pitch followed and McAskie dashed home to tie the game. Two more runs came in off a single by catcher Justin Marra, and Toronto led 4-2 after five.
Greene gave those three runs right back in the top of the sixth. The Panthers recorded five straight two-out hits to take a 5-4 lead.
A frustrated Greene turned the game over to the Leafs bullpen. Newcomer Evan Elliott pitched a scoreless top of the seventh, setting the stage for the game-winning rally that followed.
Adam Robertson was on the mound for Kitchener to start the bottom of the seventh. He served up a single to centerfielder Connor Lewis and an RBI double to shortstop Jose Vinicio, and the game was tied but not for long. First baseman Castaldo smacked a go-ahead double and ended Robertson's night. Reliever Nathan Laird could not stem the tide as Takamatsu and pinch hitter J.J. Dutton each hit RBI singles to give the Leafs an 8-5 lead through seven innings.
In the top of the eighth inning, the mournful tolling of a funeral bell sounded across the ballpark. It sounded for the Panthers, as Dustin Richardson emerged from the bullpen. The undertaker was back, back from the dead or whatever netherworldly realm he has dwelt in these past many months. As children began chanting "Start the hearse! Start the hearse!", Richardson put the Panthers into the ground with a scoreless inning, striking out two.
Then came the exclamation points. In the bottom of the eigtht, right fielder Santos cranked a two-run home run, his first of the season, setting the Pits on fire. Castaldo followed with a solo shot and the game was out of reach, 11-5 Toronto through eight.
Kitchener tried one more comeback, and managed to score twice off reliever Adam Marra, but that was it as the Leafs won 11-7 and sent their fans home happy.
Kitchener 7 12 2
Toronto 11 12 2
W - Elliott (1-0, 0.00)
L - Robertson (0-1, 8.77)
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Thursday, July 6, 2023 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers - RAINED OUT
The following night, the return tilt between these two clubs was washed out.
Saturday, July 8, 2023 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish
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| Wilgenis Alvarado dances off the mound after pitching eight shutout innings in Welland. (image: Welland Jackfish YouTube) |
Wilgenis Alvarado almost etched his name in the big book of Maple Leafs lore with a brilliant performance at Welland Stadium on Saturday night.
Over eight innings, Alvarado shut out the high-scoring first-place Jackfish. He gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out three.
Too bad baseball games are nine innings.
After eight innings, the Leafs clung to a 1-0 lead thanks to a fourth inning solo home run by third baseman Johnathan Solazzo.
With his ERA down to a slim 1.48 for the season, Alvarado handed the ball to Julian Valdez to close it out in the bottom of the ninth, and the Jackfish came alive. A walk and a single brought McCoy Pierce to the plate, and the B.C. native hit a game winning, two-run walk off double to bring a crushing end to the game for Leafs Nation.
Toronto 1 6 0
Welland 2 4 2
W - Mendez (2-0, 0.00)
L - Valdez (1-4, 9.32)
Sunday, July 9, 2023 - Hamilton Cardinals at Toronto Maple Leafs
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| Thirteen -- unlucky for some but not Daniel Procopio, who fanned that many Cardinals in a dominant start at the Pits. |
The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs faced Colby Ring, the Hamilton Cardinals pitcher beat them for the second time in two weeks.
Since then, Ring has lost some of his shine. On Sunday at Christie Pits, the Leafs roughed him up for five runs in the first two innings to hand him a losing record on the season.
After the previous night's disappointment in Welland, the Mapes got to work right away. In the bottom of the first, they drew three straight walks off Ring, bringing left fielder Jesse Hodges to the plate with two outs. Hodges took three straight balls before Ring finally threw a strike. Ring's next pitch was fatal, as Hodges smashed it for a grand slam and a 4-0 Leafs lead after one inning.
Hamilton scored a run in the top of the second but the Leafs kept at it in the bottom of the inning. DH Ryan Burnside, centerfielder Ryan Santos and shortstop Jose Vinicio hit three straight singles. First baseman Jordan Castaldo calmly drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-1 Toronto, and Ring's afternoon was over after two innings.
Meanwhile, Toronto starter Daniel Procopio pitched his best game of the year. Over 5.2 innings, Procopio gave up just one run and six hits while striking out 13 Redbirds.
In the bottom of the sixth, a single by Burnside drove in a run to make it 6-1 Toronto.
Zach Sloan entered the game in relief of Procopio and in the top of the seventh Hamilton tagged him for two home runs. That made it a closer 6-4 score midway through seven innings.
In the bottom of the frame, the Leafs gave themselves some breathing room with a pair of runs. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo and right fielder Aiden McAskie each singled in a run to make it 8-4 Toronto.
Taylor Lepard, making his debut appearance, and Evan Elliott, making his second, pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings respectively, sealing the 8-4 final score. All told, the Cardinals were rung up 17 times by Toronto pitching, another dominant performance on the mound by the boys in the famous V-necks.
Hamilton 4 11 1
Toronto 8 9 1
W - Procopio (3-1, 6.37)
L - Ring (2-3, 5.78)
With a 13-10 record, the Maple Leafs are in a three-way tie with Hamilton and Kitchener for third place in the IBL standings. All three clubs are now 4 1/2 games behind the Welland Jackfish.
It's another busy week ahead:
Monday, July 10 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox, 8:00 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium
Wednesday, July 12 - Barrie Baycats vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
Saturday, July 15 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox, 8:00 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium
Sunday, July 16 - Welland Jackfish vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits
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