On the Christie Hillside: Travel is a Foretaste of Hell

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - June 15 to 21, 2026

Two blowouts on the road and a loss at home made for a bad Week 6 in Maple Leafs baseball

Thursday night up north, Yadian Martinez could not contain the Barrie Baycats' offence.

The title of this week's installment is a quote from the Babur Nama, the autobiography of Emperor Babur (1483-1530).

Babur was the first leader of the Moghul Empire, a medieval dynasty that spanned present-day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

When Babur wrote "Travel is a foretaste of hell," he may have been quoting the Prophet, I can't remember. He lived in an almost-constant state of war. He spent years in travel, roaming mountain ranges, deserts and jungles to battle his enemies and keep his empire intact from challengers. His life was like something out of a fantasy novel. Village raids, gold and jewels, mass decapitations, WAR ELEPHANTS. Amazing stuff.

The Canadian Baseball League has not yet descended to those levels of violence, but the grind is there.

The Leafs felt it hard this week. They travelled to opposite corners of the league's geography to suffer blowout losses in Welland and Barrie.

The week ended with another loss at home, and a wasted trip to Guelph. No gold and jewels, no elephants. No mass slaughter either, and the Leafs will play on so there's at least that.

And now, here's the recap of Week 6 in Toronto Maple Leafs baseball.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish

A power outage temporarily halted play at Welland Stadium. (image: Welland Jackfish YouTube)

Power outage/power surge.

On a drizzly Wednesday night at Welland Stadium, the lights went out. It happened after the fifth inning of a pitchers' duel between the Welland Jackfish and Toronto Maple Leafs. When play resumed, one side blew the game up with a 10-run inning.

A star matchup of Ben Abram and Wilgenis Alvarado featured on the mound and they swapped scoreless innings in the early going.

Through the first three innings, Abram surrendered a single walk.

In the bottom of the third, Alvarado gave up a double and a single, but escaped the jam when the Leafs turned a double play to end the inning.

Top of four, centerfielder J.J. Dutton recorded the Leafs' first hit but ended up stranded on base.

Bottom four, the Jackfish capitalized on a series of lucky breaks. Alvarado hit the first two batters in the inning, but followed that with two outs. Welland then benefited from three straight infield hits, each one so close to being an out. Each hit drove in a baserunner to make it a 3-0 ballgame.

Just before the Leafs came up to bat in the top of the sixth, the stadium went dark and the online broadcast conked out. After the short electrical delay, the power came back on.

Rally rally! With Abram still on the mound, catcher Matt Brandt led off with a single and Dutton followed with his second hit of the game. Left fielder Marcus Knecht then hit a liner to left that scored both runners. Knecht ended up on second base and scored on an RBI single by third baseman Matt Fabian. The Leafs had tied the score 3-3, Abram was on the ropes, and then...

Götterdämmerung! Jackfish bats lit up the scoreboard with Wagnerian fury.

Alvarado returned to the mound to start the bottom of the sixth. He gave up a walk and two singles. One runner scored, and his night was done. He was relieved by Reinaldo De Paula. He gave up two singles and a walk as four more runs crossed the plate. Kyle Poapst came in to put out the fire but it only continued. A hit-by-pitch, wild pitch, single and double added to the ordeal as the Jackfish made it a 10-run inning. When it was finally over they enjoyed a 13-3 lead.

Toronto attempts at a comeback fizzled out in the seventh and eighth innings. Shortstop Brando Leroux drove in a run in the ninth but it was too little too late. Dutton led the team with three hits on the night, Knecht led with two RBIs, but the Leafs ended up on the wrong end of a 14-4 FINAL. Abram got his fourth win of the season and Alvarado took his first loss.

Toronto 4 7 1

Welland 14 13 0

W - Abram (4-1, 2.14)

L - Alvarado (1-1, 4.12)

BOXSCORE

Thursday, June 18, 2026 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats

Crix Taveras made his Maple Leaf debut and recorded one of the team's two hits on the night.

More drizzle/more fizzle.

For the second evening in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs traveled to a wet stadium.

This time I tagged along to Athletic Kulture Stadium way up there in Springwater Township to watch in person. The grey conditions kept a lot of people away. The grill and beer tent were both closed and the stadium operated on basic mode.

In terms of weather, the drizzle stopped just before first pitch. After that, the Leafs got soaked on the scoreboard.

They managed just two hits all night, during a spirited third inning that saw them score a pair of runs.

By then, they were still down 4-2. Starter Yadian Martinez had been tagged for four runs across the first two innings of the game, including a 3-run home run by Canice Ejoh, the Barrie Baycats' two-way star (baseball, Instagram).

The Leafs' third-inning rally began when third baseman Spenser Ross reached base on an error. He was bunted over by catcher Matt Brandt, then scored on a double by shortstop Brando Leroux. A balk by Barrie starter Juan Benitez moved Leroux to third, and he scored on a sac fly by DH Yasiel Puig. First baseman Crix Taveras notched his first single as a Maple Leaf but was stranded aboard.

The Baycats pulled further and further away. A two-run homer in the fifth ended the night for Martinez. Relievers Frankie Gulko, Graham Sim and Ben Sitarenios could not silence Barrie's bats. Three runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh made it a 12-2 ballgame.

In the top of the eighth inning, reliever Oscar Moreta loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsman. Right fielder Marcus Knecht hit a sac fly to drive in a run.

By then, darkness had set in at the park and I quietly departed. As I stepped into the parking lot, the crack of a bat, roar of the remaining crowd, and home run horn sent me on my way. 13-3 was the FINAL score. Benitez with the win, Martinez with his fourth loss of the season.

Toronto 3 2 0

Barrie 13 19 1

W - Benitez (1-0, 6.23)

L - Martinez (1-4, 9.26)

BOXSCORE

Friday, June 19, 2026 - Barrie Baycats vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Starter Cam Dimidjian kept the game close but came out on the losing end.

The only home game on the Toronto Maple Leafs' schedule this week was a Friday night return engagement against the Barrie Baycats.

It was a closer contest than the night before, but a sixth inning grand slam by Edgar Figueroa put the game away and the Leafs fell 9-5.

The Baycats never trailed. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly off starter Cam Dimidjian gave them a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, the Leafs scored right back. Shortstop Brando Leroux hit what felt like his 17th double of the season already. Barrie starter Juan Mejia then served up a pitch that right fielder Yasiel Puig stroked for an RBI single. 1-1 through one.

Top 2, Dimidjian struck a batsman, then got tagged for back-to-back home runs that gave the Baycats a 4-1 lead.

Bottom 2, the Leafs got one back. A walk by third baseman Spenser Ross was followed by a single off the bat of catcher Matt Brandt. Ross came in to score when Leroux hit into a fielder's choice. 4-2 through two.

In the top of the third, two singles and a double added a run to Barrie's tally.

In the bottom of the third, Mejia went a bit wild. He walked Puig, who advanced all the way home on a series of wild pitches. After three innings it was 5-3 Barrie and Mejia's night was done. He was relieved by Braedan Pakkala in the fourth.

Dimidjian was rescued from further damage in the top of the fifth. He put two men aboard with one out. Luis Florentino came in from the bullpen. With runners on second and third, Wandy Ciprian hit a sac fly to centerfield. J.J. Dutton made the catch and launched a missile to the plate. Brandt applied the tag to Nolan Machibroda who was jogging home. Got heeem.

Bottom of the fifth, the Leafs pulled to within a run. Newcomer Crix Taveras singled and advanced on a wild pitch. A line drive by Dutton brought the Leafs' first baseman home and it was 5-4.

In the top of the sixth, Florentino got into a jam of his own. Two singles and a walk set the stage for Figueroa's grand salami. The Baycats went up 9-4.

The Leafs refused to keel over. In the bottom of the sixth, second baseman Yordan Manduley singled and scored on an RBI hit by Leroux.

Barrie's bullpen closed the door over the final three innings to preserve a 9-5 FINAL score and a win for Pakkala. Dimidjian took the loss and the Leafs ended the week with a three-game losing streak.

Late in the game, the Leafs In-Park Host Michael Roudbari announced that the Toronto Marlies had just won the AHL's Calder Cup, and fired off his sorely underused home run smoke gun.

Taveras led the team with two of his team's seven hits on the night. He recorded an RBI, as did three of his teammates.

Barrie 9 13 0

Toronto 5 7 0

W - Pakkala (1-0, 3.86)

L - Dimidjian (0-2, 10.38)

BOXSCORE