Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - August 3 to 9, 2026
Week 13 saw the hearts of Leaf fans rise off the bat of Yordan Manduley, and fall with the turn of his ankle.
 |
| Yordan Manduley led the club in hits and RBIs this week despite going down with injury. |
Yordan Manduley has put together a great season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Cast off by the Kitchener Panthers before last season ended, he found a new home at Christie Pits. The 40-year-old Cuban has rewarded the club for its faith in him.
As of August 9, Manduley's 46 hits are second on the club only to Yasiel Puig. Same with his .387 batting average. He leads the Leafs with 10 doubles and more wildly, his nine stolen bases also lead the club.
This week, Manduley went through what felt like the cycle of Toronto Maple Leafs fanhood in 2026.
Wednesday, Manduley goes 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 4 RBIs.
"UNSTOPPABLE! IRRESISTIBLE! PLAN THE PARADE ROUTE!"
Friday, Manduley goes 2-for-5 with 1 run and 2 RBIs.
"STILL BEATING THE WORLD!"
Saturday, Manduley goes 1-for-3, 0 runs, 0 RBIs, and leaves the game injured.
"OKAY MAYBE TOO OVERZEALOUS. BUT STILL!"
Sunday, Manduley does not play. Leafs win one and lose three on the week.
"SEASON OVER."
Manduley is reported to be day-to-day and we hope he makes a swift return. The cycle of fanhood begins anew.
And now, here's the recap of Week 13 in Toronto Maple Leafs baseball.
Wednesday, August 5, 2026 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs
 |
| A slugfest at the plate means no rest for the bullpen, shown here briefly at rest. |
It was a four-hour Christie thriller.
You'd love every game to be like this, maybe a bit quicker with a better ending.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Hamilton Cardinals duked it out at Christie Pits, a 31-hit, 27-run slugfest. The Leafs fell just short in the bottom of the ninth and lost 14-13.
The Cardinals grabbed an early lead thanks to a first inning leadoff home run by Brandon Nicoll off of starter Wilgenis Alvarado.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Leafs sent 11 men to the plate and seized the lead. At one point the Leafs strung together four hits in a row, resulting in a pair of RBIs for catcher Matt Brandt and one RBI for left fielder Ben Sitarenios. Later in the inning, second baseman Yordan Manduley drove in two with a single of his own. The Leafs led 5-1 through two.
Not a great night for either starter. In the top of the third, Alvarado gave up two more homers and an RBI double as the Cardinals took a 6-5 lead.
Bottom three, Hamilton starter Dakota Parsons served up a pitch that Brandt crushed over the centerfield fence to tie the game 6-6.
Alvarado opened the top of the fourth inning by giving up a single. He was relieved by Frankie Gulko, who loaded the bases with a walk and an error. He then walked in a run and gave up an RBI single. Reinaldo De Paula took over on the mound. Two more singles plated three runs and Hamilton went back ahead 11-6.
In the top of the sixth, the Redbirds scored one more run off De Paula, a groundout that scored a baserunner from third to make it 12-6.
Bottom six, Hamilton reliever Caleb Seroski loaded the bases and got the hook. Facing Scott Gillespie, Manduley hit a two-run double. A wild pitch scored right fielder Yasiel Puig. Centerfielder J.J. Dutton reached base on an error and Manduley scored to make it 12-10 through six.
Luis Florentino pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Dutton delivered more dramatics. Reliever Freisis Adames put the first two batters aboard with a single and a walk. Dutton cashed both runners in with a double to center and the game was tied 12-12.
The excitement was short-lived as Hamilton immediately retook the lead. Yuto Nakata came on to pitch the ninth for the Leafs. After giving up a leadoff single, he got the next two batters to strike out swinging. Jommer Hernandez then killed the mood at the Pits by belting a two-run homer. The Cardinals went up 14-12 and the Leafs were down to their last three outs.
Adames struck out the first two Leafs to start the bottom of the ninth. Shortstop Brando Leroux singled, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Puig stroked a single to centerfield and Leroux roared around to score. Manduley was hit by a pitch and Adames was on the brink, but he escaped with one more strikeout and the game ended with a 14-13 FINAL score.
Manduley went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Brandt homered and drove in three. Dutton drove in two, and Sitarenios and Puig each recorded one RBI.
Adames grabbed the win, Nakata took the loss, and the game took a couple of minutes over four hours.
Hamilton 14 17 2
Toronto 13 14 3
W - Adames (6-1, 3.38)
L - Nakata (1-1, 4.05)
Friday, August 7, 2026 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford "Base Invaders"
 |
| Dennis Dei Baning battles the setting sun at Arnold Anderson Stadium. |
How about a thriller winner this time?
After being shut down for most of the game, the Toronto Maple Leafs offence staged a huge late-innings comeback and beat the Brantford Red Sox 10-9 in eleven innings. Fans at Arnold Anderson Stadium were left stunned and reeling.
On the mound it was the Red Sox bullpen versus Nick Veselinovic. For this game the Brantfords assumed the alternate identity of "Base Invaders". Their uniforms were mostly the same but for "Invaders" in big letters on their jerseys.
In the bottom of the first, leadoff batter Jakob Cantor singled, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a flyout and the home side sent up 1-0.
The Brantford pen held the Leafs at bay until the top of the fifth inning. Elian Serrata, the third pitcher of the evening, hit a batter and gave up three walks to gift the visitors a run and tie the game 1-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, Veselinovic got into a jam by loading the bases. Christian Ortega then ripped a two-out double and drive in all three runners. 4-1 Brantford after five.
Veselinovic battled into the sixth inning, but Brantford added to their lead. A single and a groundout each produced a run and the home side was up 6-1 through six.
Frankie Gulko took over on the mound for the bottom of the seventh, and the Red Sox kept going. Brody Black led off with a triple and scored on an error, giving his team a 7-1 lead through seven.
Top of the eighth, the Leafs went to town on reliever Anthony Porcellato. A four-run rally saw shortstop Brando Leroux and centerfielder J.J. Dutton each hit two-run singles to make it a 7-5 ballgame.
Top of the ninth, the Leafs completed the comeback. Jorge De La Cruz was on the mound looking to close it out. He got to within two outs before the wheels came off. With a runner on first, he gave up a single to Leroux then intentionally walked DH Yasiel Puig to load the bases. Up to the plate stepped second baseman Yordan Manduley. He rapped a single to centerfield that scored two runners to tie the game 7-7. They made it all the way back from 7-1.
Reinaldo De Paula pitched a scoreless ninth to send the game to extras.
Neither team could score in the tenth. Luis Florentino retired the side.
It was on to the eleventh and the Leafs broke through. Catcher Matt Brandt started the inning as the ghost runner on second base. Left fielder Dennis Dei Baning drew a walk, bringing third baseman Spenser Ross to the plate. Ross bunted up the third base line. De La Cruz grabbed the ball and hurled it over third base into left field. Brandt scored, Dei Baning to second, Ross safe at first. Bottom of the order getting it done. Leroux followed with a single that scored both runners and the Leafs surged to a 10-7 lead.
They needed every one of those runs. As the clock approached midnight, Florentino returned to the mound. He gave up a single that put two runners aboard, then gave up a soaring triple to Black. Both runners came in and the lead was down to one. With two outs, ex-Leaf Charlie Towers skied one to the left field corner. Dei Baning was there to make the catch and the game was over.
Stunned, reeling; the few Brantford fans left in the park berated the umpires, citing some obscure flyball rule that fell on deaf ears. The Leafs claimed the 10-9 FINAL in extras. Florentino earned the victory and De La Cruz received the defeat.
Toronto 10 12 2
Brantford 9 9 2
(11 innings)
W - Florentino (1-0, 4.00)
L - De La Cruz (0-1, 2.76)
Saturday, August 8, 2026 - London Majors vs Toronto Maple Leafs
 |
| Starter Cam Dimidjian sought his elusive first dub of the season. |
"That was probably the worst game of the year, and that is saying something."
An anonymous Toronto Maple Leafs fan summed it all up at the conclusion of this one.
The Leafs were defeated 20-4 by the London Majors at Christie Pits.
Three Leaf pitchers were each mauled for five earned runs or more.
Starter Cam Dimidjian once again let a game get away in the fifth inning, when a 2-2 tie became a 5-2 deficit. He took his third loss and remains winless in five starts.
From the fifth inning to the ninth, the Majors scored 18 runs and ran away with it.
Second baseman Yordan Manduley exited the game in the sixth inning, limping off the field with an ankle injury after attempting to field a grounder.
A short bench resulted in two relief pitchers going up to bat for Toronto.
In a game that the Leafs lost by 16 runs it's hard to call these highlights, but:
Catcher Matt Brandt drove in two runs with a single in the fourth inning.
Pitcher Reinaldo De Paula played second base for what appears to be the first time ever in his nine-year playing career. He replaced Manduley and played three-plus innings without incident.
Right fielder Yasiel Puig hit his fifteenth home run of the 2026 season and continues to lead the league in that category.
London 20 17 1
Toronto 4 10 3
W - Perez (2-1, 4.19)
L - Dimidjian (0-3, 9.26)
S - Orfaly (1)
Sunday, August 9, 2026 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Guelph Royals (resumption of a suspended game)
 |
| Guelph players celebrate their win at Hastings Stadium. |
After three high-scoring affairs (some resolving themselves better than others), the Toronto Maple Leafs ended their week quietly. Too quietly.
Back in June, the Leafs played exactly one-third of an inning against the Guelph Royals before a sudden rainstorm swamped Hastings Stadium. The suspended game was resumed on Sunday under hot, sunny skies.
Yuto Nakata made the start on the mound for the Mapes. He was tagged for a couple of hits in the second inning that gave the Royals a one-run lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Royals extended their lead. A sac fly and a triple off Nakata brought in two more runs. The man from Japan pitched seven innings. His final line was three runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
Where, during all this time, were the Maple Leaf bats? Too quiet.
Kyle Thomas, Elvin Liriano, and Marek Deska combined to hold the visitors scoreless over seen innings, scattering five hits.
In the top of the eighth, right fielder Yasiel Puig doubled and scored on an RBI single by left fielder Dennis Dei Baning. That put the Leafs on the board at last.
Toronto added another run in the ninth. Third baseman Spenser Ross reached base on an error and came around to score on a double by second baseman Crix Taveras.
That was it. Guelph took the 3-2 FINAL. Thomas got the win while Nakata lost his second game of the week, repeating a feat done by the guy he replaced, Yadian Martinez. Hero to zero, iffin that ain't baseball in a nutshell.
Toronto 2 9 0
Guelph 3 5 2
W - Thomas (1-0, 1.83)
L - Nakata (1-2, 4.05)
S - Escorcia (7)
The Leafs' record drops to 12-23 on the season. They dip down to seventh place, 13 games behind the London Majors and they fade to 8.5 games away from a postseason berth.
The week ahead:
Thursday, August 13 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers, 7:05 pm at Jack Couch Park
Friday, August 14 - Toronto Maple Leafs at London Majors, 7:05 pm at Labatt Memorial Park
Saturday, August 15 - Chatham-Kent Barnstormers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
Sunday, August 16 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Stockings, 2:00 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium
**POST-CREDITS SCENE**
This week we spotted some old friends in new places.
A couple of pitchers from the 2025 Toronto Maple Leafs are plying their trade on distant shores.
Ayami Sato is pitching for the Los Angeles Queens of the brand new Women's Professional Baseball League. The league launched its inaugural season this month, playing its full schedule in Illinois.
Last Friday, Sato notched her first win for the Queens. She gave up just one run (unearned) over five innings while striking out four.
On the Christie Hillside's foreign correspondent captured a photo of Sato, all smiles during a pregame huddle with her teammates.
 |
| (Photo: Cynthia Robinson) |
Alex Kharabian, another '25 Leafs alumnus, has spent the summer in Germany.
He has been playing for the Saarlouis Hornets. They are in the second tier of Germany's baseball Bundesliga and just won their division by one game.
Kharabian hasn't pitched much this year, and ended up being more of an outfielder/third baseman. He hit two home runs in the Hornets' home opener and hit a walk-off in their final game of the season, which ended up clinching the division.
He also appeared in a commercial for one of the club's sponsors, a lottery.
 |
| (image: Instagram/@Saartoto) |
No comments:
Post a Comment