Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 15 to 21, 2025
The Leafs' dry spell continues as they lose two more at home in Week Ten.
 |
| This week Jordan Castaldo continued his ascent among the gods of the IBL, becoming just the third man in league history to record 500 RBIs. |
Shostakovich.
An anxious, twitchy man best known for composing bleak and miserable symphonies. He lived his entire life under the shadow of the Soviet regime. His work was "supervised" by state cultural authorities and when it strayed too far from glorifying the Communist motherland, he was publicly denounced and humiliated. No wonder he looks wretched in every photo.
 |
| Shostakovich looking like he just spent an evening at Christie Pits. |
Where am I going with this?
Lately it's getting hard not to feel anxious and twitchy when arriving at Christie Pits. The Toronto Maple Leafs are stuck in a home losing streak we haven't seen probably ever.
The current homestand has seen the Leafs lose in bleak and miserable fashion. 15-5 to Welland. 10-6 to London. 11-2 to Kitchener. 13-3 to Hamilton.
In three of those games, the Leafs have blown early leads. The bats cool off, the pitching proves permeable. The visitors enjoy the spoils and we can only look on.
This home losing streak is up to eight games. The Leafs have won at home only three times all season, an incomprehensible stat for a place renowned for its home field advantage.
Saturday night, the club's rogue scorekeeper described these unexpected goings-on as a "home field disadvantage."
No, the spectre of Communism is not haunting Christie Pits, but losing sucks. Whatever is causing it (injury bugs, mid-season malaise, chemtrails), there's no way it can continue.
Despite this funk the Leafs remain the third-highest scoring team in the IBL. The bats have overslept for sure, but they've got to reawaken soon. The pitching has been overly generous, but will get stingy again. These things must happen, right? Right??
While we endure this vale of tears, here is a recap of Week Ten in Leafs baseball.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs
 |
| Dennis Dei Baning notched three of the Leafs' five hits on a losing night. |
A Wednesday nighter at Christie Pits saw the Toronto Maple Leafs blow an early lead, then get blown out by the Kitchener Panthers 11-2.
It started well. It took starter Luis Florentino seven pitches to complete a perfect first inning.
In the bottom of the inning, two walks and a single off Cuban Yadian Martinez loaded the bases. Third baseman Chad Picton followed with an RBI single that scored left fielder Ryan Dos Santos. 1-0 Leafs in the early going.
Florentino pitched a scoreless second, but then the troubles began. In the top of the third, the Panthers scratched out a run on an RBI single to tie the game.
In the top of the fourth, nine Black Cats came to the plate. They scored five times, off three hits, three walks and an error. Florentino was relieved by Matt Brown who got out of the inning, but the Leafs found themselves down 6-1.
In the top of the fifth, 21-year-old Dylan Oborne of Richmond Hill made his IBL debut on the mound for Toronto. Former Leaf Charlie Towers led off with a walk. He stole second, moved to third on a flyball out, then scored on a wild pitch by Brown. 7-1 Panthers.
The Leafs got one back in the bottom of the fifth, when centerfielder Dennis Dei Baning hit an RBI single.
Oborne pitched a scoreless sixth, but the Panthers' bats were not done yet. Ayami Sato gave up two runs in the seventh, and Marek Deska also gave up two in the eighth.
The Panthers sauntered off with an 11-2 victory. Martinez earned the win with six innings of work while Florentino took the loss.
Dei Baning led at the plate with three of the Leafs' five hits. Picton and first baseman Justin Marra recorded the other two.
Saturday, July 19, 2025 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs
 |
| Josh Berenbaum pitched five strong innings but ended up on the losing end of this game. |
Saturday night, the pattern repeated itself.
An early lead, it slips away, the visitors romp. This time it was the Hamilton Cardinals taking advantage and taking a 13-3 victory over the Leafs.
Starter Josh Berenbaum pitched five solid innings and gave up three runs. He might have had a chance for a W, but Leaf bats went cold after a promising first.
Corben Peters was on the mound for Hamilton. After retiring the first two batters he faced, he walked first baseman Jordan Castaldo. Left fielder Jhon Javier followed with a single, and centerfielder Dennis Dei Baning followed that with an RBI single that scored Castaldo.
Dei Baning has been on fire this week. He has seven hits in two games, raising his batting average to .329 on the season.
In the bottom of the second, a familiar face came to the plate in the person of Luca Boscarino.
Bosco! Last observed in larval state. One of Damon Topolie's kids, class of '22. Back in a Leafs uniform for the first time since then, he recorded a walk and an RBI on the night while playing right field.
Also in uniform for the first time since May was DH Michael Cecchetto. He recorded a hit and a walk.
More familiar faces showed up wearing the visitors' powder blue unies. Johnathan Solazzo and Angel Castro both received a warm Christie Pits welcome.
After five innings, the Cardinals led 3-1. Berenbaum was relieved by Drew Howard who pitched a scoreless sixth.
Everything unravelled in the seventh as the dreaded One Big Inning put the game away. Fifteen Redbirds came to the plate. Hamilton scored 9 runs on ten hits, including a grand slam by Yolki Peña. Three different Leaf pitchers got abused before getting out of the inning. When it was finally over, the home side was down 12-1.
One of the few bright spots in the game was Castaldo knocking a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. It was the Leaf slugger's 500th career RBI. In that category he now sits third in the IBL behind only Sean Reilly and Kevin Hinton.
The Freeze Race was marred by chaos. Just as the race was getting under way, Christie the Dog, who loves Mr. Freeze as we all do, broke loose onto the field. Christie charged towards the racers, wanting to say hi. Mr. Freeze was distracted long enough that he lost the race and his season record dropped to two wins, four losses. At presstime, there was no confirmation whether Christie received a reprimand or worse.
When the night reached its end, the Hamiltonians boarded their bus with a 13-3 win and a W for Peters. Berenbaum, who can't catch a break, got the L.
Hamilton 13 15 1
Toronto 3 10 1
W - Peters (3-1, 3.92)
L - Berenbaum (3-4, 4.73)
With ten weeks in the books, the Leafs have a 12-17 record. That puts them in sixth place in the IBL standings, 9 1/2 games behind the Welland Jackfish.
There is no letting up, with the toughest week of the season coming up. Four games in four days, including road trips to Barrie and Welland.
The week ahead:
Wednesday, July 23 - Chatham-Kent Barnstormers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
Thursday, July 24 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats, 7:35 pm at Athletic Kulture Stadium
Friday, July 25 - Guelph Royals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
Saturday, July 26 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish, 6:05 pm at Welland Stadium
No comments:
Post a Comment