Six Outs From Success

Semifinals Game 1: Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers - August 17, 2018

Leafs lead 4-3 (*game suspended by rain*)

The semifinal series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kitchener Panthers got off to a soggy start last night.

Game 1 in K-Dub was interrupted by two rain delays -- the second one causing a suspension of play after seven innings.

The situation left the Leafs six outs away from victory, after they erased an early three-run lead by the home side.

Kitchener came out roaring in the first inning. They loaded the bases on Toronto starter Andrew Simonetti, who then surrendered a two-run double to Keegan Marsden.

The Panthers tacked on another run in the bottom of the second. Andy Leader singled and eventually came around to score on a fielder's choice by Tanner Nivins. That made it 3-0 for the Black Cats after a couple of innings.

It looked like it might turn into a long and painful night for the Leafs, but Simonetti pulled it together. The right hander betrayed no sign of panic -- in fact it's likely that he betrayed no emotions at all. Whenever he is on the field, Simonetti's game face is completely stoic. He doesn't smile, frown, or show any indication of what's going on in his mind. Having given up three runs on three hits, he put a stop to Kitchener's offense from that point on.

The boxscore shows a row of goose eggs on Kitchener's scoreline from the third inning to the end of the seventh. Simonetti finished the inning with a swinging strikeout, the finishing touch on what turned out to be a strong performance.

For the Leafs' offense the game was reversed. Starter Yonder Martinez held them to just two hits in the first four innings, and put a row of goose eggs on the board until the fifth.

Catcher Mike Reeves led off with a single, then went first-to-third on a single by shortstop Aaron Hornostaj. Centerfielder Connor Lewis cashed Reeves in with a sac fly to put the Leafs on the board. 3-1 Panthers through five.

The sixth inning seems to be a special one for the Leafs this postseason, and it proved so again last night. Stephen Gade relieved Martinez to start the frame, and he put two men aboard by walking first baseman Justin Marra and hitting rightfielder Marcus Knecht with a pitch. Manager Luke Baker immediately went to the bullpen for Mike Schnurr, and the Leafs went to town. DH Garrett Takamatsu singled to load the bases. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo tied the game with a two-run single that scored Marra and Knecht. Up next was Reeves, and he loaded the bases again with his second hit of the night. Hornostaj then put the Leafs ahead with an RBI single that drove in Takamatsu. Four straight singles off Schnurr, and three runs on the board for Toronto who took a 4-3 lead through six innings.

Simonetti pitched a perfect bottom of the sixth, and then fought off the top of the Panthers' order in the seventh to maintain Toronto's one-run lead.

That would be all the baseball action on the night. For the second time in the game, rain halted play. As the infield grew increasingly wet and the forecast bleak, the umpires suspended the game.

The Leafs are six outs away from a Game 1 victory. The last two innings will be played on Sunday, August 19 at Christie Pits. The game will resume at 1:30 pm. Upon its conclusion, Game 2 will begin after a 20-minute break.


Toronto 4-10-2
Kitchener 3-6-1
(through 7 innings)


NOTE: Eric Penkala and Cory Graham are providing live webcasts of each Leafs playoff game and archiving them on YouTube. The channel is Toronto Maple Leafs IBL Webcast.

Here's their complete coverage of Game 1.

Home Plate Demolition Night

Game 36: Barrie Baycats at Toronto Maple Leafs, August 1, 2018 

(Play suspended in the 3rd inning)

Dark skies and swirling weed. Kids running on the field. The playing surface wrecked and unplayable.

Those were the scenes at Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in the summer of 1979.

Those were also, to a much milder extent, the scenes at Christie Pits, 39 years later.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Barrie Baycats last night for the final Wednesday nighter of the regular season. There was plenty on the line. Both Toronto's place in the IBL standings and their first-round playoff opponent are yet to be determined.

So the Leafs took the field on a muggy night, shortly after a brief sprinkle of rain.

Zach Sloan was on the mound for the Mapes against Emilis Guerrero for Barrie. Both starters worked a pair of scoreless innings to start the game.

In the top of the third, the Baycats got on the board with a run as Ryan Spataro crossed home plate. That would be the last baseball action of the night.

As fans looked on from all around the park, a crowd gathered around the plate. It had come loose from its moorings. It had been newly-installed that morning, but the glue underneath had not fully set. 

We waited. Players, umpires, coaches and field staff gathered around like a team of conferring surgeons. No amount of manipulation, stomping or pleading could get the plate back into place.

During the delay, attempts were made to contact city staff for emergency repair work. Players intermingled in small groups. Fans bantered. Glenn Jackson's kids ran the bases.

After a half hour of delay, it was determined that the plate could not be repaired that night. The game was suspended, Home Plate Demolition Night was born, and it just as suddenly came to an abrupt end.

The game will be resumed if necessary to determine the final league standings.


Barrie 1-3-0
Toronto 0-2-0
(play suspended in the 3rd inning)


The Leafs play their final road game of the regular season tonight at Nelson Park against the Burlington Herd. First pitch is at 7:15.