A Delicious Win

Game 19: Toronto Maple Leafs at Burlington Herd, August 2, 2018 (rescheduled rainout)

Leafs win 5-3 (11 innings)

R.J. Page was hungry.

We were into the fourth hour of last night's ballgame at Nelson Park. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Burlington Herd had been deadlocked at 2-2 since the second inning. The night was dragging on with no end in sight.

The tenth inning had just wrapped up, still tied. Page made his way to the cooler behind the Leafs bench to assemble a snack. 

The game had started under partly cloudy skies with some flashes of sun. The Herd jumped on starter Justin Cicatello for two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Toronto got those two runs right back. First baseman/manager Damon Topolie led off the top of the second with a double. Centerfielder Zac Orchard was up next, and he reached safely when Burlington starter Trent Lunsford threw wild to first on a grounder. Topolie scored on the play. Orchard moved to third on a bunt by rightfielder Greg Carrington, then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 2-2 game through two.

Now, hours later, I watched as Page put some ham, lettuce, pickles and other good stuff on a nice bun.

It wasn't as if the Leafs hadn't had about a hundred chances to break the tie. Other than the second inning when they scored two runs, they had stranded runners on base every inning, racking up 14 LOBs through ten.

I don't believe in superstitions, jinxes or the other hoodoo that haunts an athlete's day from the moment they step out of bed, but something happened right after Page clapped those pieces of bread together.

Second baseman Dan Marra led off the eleventh with a walk, bringing leftfielder Justin Marra up to the plate. Justin worked the count to two balls and two strikes, then detonated the next pitch with his bat. The ball shot high into the night sky, soaring well over the right field fence. Orchard knew it was gone right away, and threw his hands up (above). A split second later, he and the rest of his teammates spilled out to welcome the Marras back to the bench. Page was beaming, for in his hand he held a new talisman of power -- the Rally Sandwich -- and it was delicious.

The inning wasn't over yet. Catcher Garrett Takamatsu doubled and came around to score on a single by Topolie. That made it 5-2 for the Leafs with the Herd down to their final three outs.

After his first inning hiccup, Cicatello kept Burlington off the board and departed after the seventh. Marek Deska, Dustin Richardson and Andrew Simonetti had combined to pitch three scoreless innings. Simonetti returned to the mound for the bottom of the eleventh. After the leadoff batter grounded out, the Herd got three straight singles and scored a run, but a double play ended the game for a 5-3 FINAL.

Simonetti got the win -- possibly the last one that the Leafs will ever notch at Nelson Park, as relocation rumblings have been coming out of Burlington in recent weeks.

Hopefully the Leafs will bring culinary provisions to every game from here on in.


Toronto 5-11-0
Burlington 3-8-2
(11 innings)

W - Simonetti (1-1, 3.75)
L - Bouillere-Howard (4-4, 5.48)


BOXSCORE


With a 15-19 record, the Leafs sit in a tie with the Guelph Royals for 4th place in the IBL standings. They return to Christie Pits this Sunday afternoon, August 5, for a makeup game against the Brantford Red Sox.

Another One Gets Away

Game 29: Burlington Herd at Toronto Maple Leafs, July 15, 2018

Herd win 4-2

                                                                                                                                                                                FILE PHOTO

The Toronto Maple Leafs let a close game slip away on Sunday afternoon at Christie Pits.

After falling behind the Burlington Herd early, they came back to tie the game 2-2 after five innings.

A game-winning home run by Grant Okawa in the top of the seventh sealed the win for the Herdsmen.

The inning-by-inning breakdown of the game posted to the IBL website reads like something posted by a man in the throes of an acid meltdown. It's hard to make sense of some key innings. It's also interesting to imagine the game playing out as described. 

Eg.: from the bottom of the 5th:


9 Justin Marra advances to 1st (single), 9 Justin Marra Scores Earned (24), 9 Justin Marra advances to 2nd (27)


Far out, man.

Whatever happened, the Leafs lost 4-2.


Burlington 4-9-1
Toronto 2-8-4

W - Quinn (1-0, 1.58)
L - A. Marra (0-1, 3.48)
S - Symington (1)


BOXSCORE


A fifth straight loss drops the Leafs to 13-13. They remain in 4th place in the IBL standings, 5 1/2 games behind the Kitchener Panthers and Barrie Baycats, who share first place. Toronto welcomes the Baycats to Christie Pits this Tuesday night, July 17th for a rescheduled game that had been rained out last month.

Zen and the Art of Winning Baseball

Game 13: Burlington Herd at Toronto Maple Leafs, June 10, 2018

Leafs win 9-8

Fans at Christie Pits have seen several new faces in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup this season. These newcomers have helped elevate the team to second place in the IBL standings after the second weekend in June.

Garrett Takamatsu is batting .405 and leading the league in doubles. His doubles are not just simple, into-the-gap doubles, but explosive cannon shots that send fielders diving for cover. Impressive stuff.

Mike Reeves has added veteran leadership from behind the plate, and another bat to the Leafs' high-octane offence. The Leafs currently lead the league in team batting average (.301), hits (142), runs (118) and runs batted in (105). The next best team in all of these categories is the Kitchener Panthers, with a team batting average of .291, 141 hits, 91 runs and 81 RBIs.

Then there's Marcus Knecht, a quiet man who conducts his plate appearances like a Zen master. Each time he steps up to the plate, Knecht performs a brief ritual. Facing the pitcher, he raises his bat high in the air in an Ichiro-like manner. With his other hand he tips his helmet ever so slightly, as if to show respect to the opponent to whom he is about to do untold damage.

In late May, Knecht smashed a ninth inning, two-out double to drive in two runs and lead the Leafs to victory over the London Majors.

Last week, he homered to help the Leafs defeat the defending champion Barrie Baycats at the Pits.

On Sunday afternoon, he homered again (above), helping to propel the Leafs to a 9-8 victory over the visiting Burlington Herd.

After the game I asked Knecht about his approach to hitting.*

"It's all about finding your balance, lining up your chakras, and igniting the inner light, man," he said.

And what about the Ichiro ritual?

"When I hold up the bat, it becomes a needle in my hand and I use it to thread the eye of harmony, man."

That is some deep stuff. But whatever works, yeah?

The game started ridiculously. Zach Sloan fell victim to a slew of hits that fell in all the right places for Burlington. It was either blind luck, or Sloan's teammates were reminding him that he owes them some money. Four hits and three runs in the first inning for the Herd.

Toronto responded with three hits and four runs in the bottom of the third. Catcher Justin Marra drove in a run -- his league-leading 19th RBI. Then came Knecht's home run, a three-run shot that gave the Leafs a 4-3 lead through three innings.

Burlington's star player Justin Gideon tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the fourth.

The Herd retook the lead in the top of the fifth, 5-4.

Reeves seized the lead back for the Leafs with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, and Takamatsu doubled (again!) to drive in Knecht to make it a 7-5 game in favour of the Leafs.

Gideon tied the game at 7-7 in the top of the sixth with a two-run homer -- his second round-tripper of the game.

Toronto immediately responded in the bottom of the sixth. Shortstop Adam Odd added to the home run derby with a solo shot to make it 8-7 for the Mapes.

R.J. Page (another Leafs newcomer) took over for Sloan in the top of the seventh, and pitched two scoreless innings.

The Leafs added a vital insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Takamatsu drove in Knecht again, making it a 9-7 game.

The Burlingtons are a resilient bunch. They faced Toronto closer Andrew Simonetti in the ninth inning, and managed to scrape up three hits and a run, but Simonetti slammed the door shut after that to finish off a 9-8 FINAL for the Leafs. Sloan earned his league-leading fifth win of the season and the sun-baked fans at Christie Pits went home happy once again.

* This interview took place in my overheated mind.  


Burlington 8-15-1
Toronto 9-11-3

W - Sloan (5-1, 3.70)
L - Bouillere-Howard (1-1, 5.09)
S - Simonetti (3)


BOXSCORE


The Leafs' 9-4 record puts them a game out of first place behind the Kitchener Panthers in the IBL standings. They will enjoy a short break to start the week before travelling up north to take on the Barrie Baycats this Thursday night.