Forza Solazzo!

Game 19: Toronto Maple Leafs at Hamilton Cardinals - June 24, 2016

Maple Leafs win 13-3

A one-man gang by the name of Johnathan Solazzo rolled into Bernie Arbour Stadium last night and laid a beating on the Hamilton Cardinals.

Solazzo went 4 for 5 including a home run and two doubles.  He scored three runs and drove in three more.

His Toronto Maple Leaf teammates could have taken the night off as the hard-slugging third baseman did the job all by himself.  Instead, they ganged up on the Redbirds for a total of 13 runs off of 18 hits.

Damon Topolie got three hits and a couple of RBIs.  Sean Mattson also got three hits.  Jon Waltenbury hit a pair and scored three times.

On the mound, Justin Cicatello stymied the Cards over five innings.  He limited them to just two hits and a run.  Newcomer Mike Wagner pitched the final four innings and earned a save.

It was a rough night for the home nine.  They were marked for three errors, but some sloppy plays kept the boys in blue circling the basepaths all night.  Toronto put the game away with One Big Inning (eight runs in the third), leaving Hamilton fans with little to cheer about.  They responded with some sassy Bronx cheers the rest of the night.  Gotta stay entertained.


Game Recap:


It was a sunny summer evening as the Hamilton Cardinals hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bernie Arbour Stadium on the mountain.  Chris Lazar started on the mound against Justin Cicatello.

Lazar got two outs to start the first inning, but then gave up consecutive singles to Toronto right fielder Jon Waltenbury, DH Sean Mattson and catcher Will Richards.  The hit by Richards drove in Waltenbury to make it 1-0 for the Leafs after one inning of play.

Leading off the top of the 2nd inning, third baseman Johnathan Solazzo blasted a Lazar pitch for a home run to make it 2-0 for the visitors.

The game unravelled for Hamilton in the top of the 3rd.  Toronto sent 12 men to the plate, scored eight runs and knocked Lazar out of the game.  Waltenbury led off with a single and Mattson followed with a double.  A single by second baseman Dan Marra scored Waltenbury.  Solazzo struck again with another blast that bounced over the centerfield fence for a ground rule double.  Mattson scored on the play.  First baseman Damon Topolie was up next, and he hit a single to left field that plated Marra and Solazzo.  Shortstop Ryan White kept the line moving with a single.  Centerfielder Connor Lewis smashed a double to score Topolie and end Lazar's night.  He was relieved by Rhys Tapper.  Waltenbury reached first base on an error, allowing White and Lewis to score.  A flyball by Mattson was misplayed for another error in centerfield, and Waltenbury crossed home plate to make it 10-0 Leafs after the 3rd inning.

Cicatello cruised along into the 5th inning, when he encountered his only spell of bother.  He gave up a leadoff double to DH Chris Beer, followed by a walk to first baseman TJ Baker.  He hit leftfielder Nate Mastervick with a pitch to load the bases.  A groundout at first by second baseman David Vanderby brought Beer in to score and make it 10-1 Leafs through five.

Mike Wagner came in to pitch for the Leafs in the bottom of the 6th.

The Cardinals scored a run in the bottom of the 7th.  Beer was hit by a pitch to start the inning.  Pinch hitter Luke Molleson singled next.  Beer moved to third on a fielder's choice hit by shortstop Geoffrey Seto, and a sac fly by Mastervick brought him in to score.  That made it 10-2 Leafs through seven.

Jake Foden relieved Tapper on the mound for Hamilton to start the 8th.  Foden walked Richards, then gave up an RBI double to Solazzo.  A single by Topolie scored Solazzo and made it 12-2 Leafs after eight innings.

Mitch Gardiner relieved Foden to pitch the 9th.  He walked leadoff man Matt Blair-Brown, who had been subbed in for Grant Tamane in the 7th.  Blair-Brown then enjoyed himself a stroll around the bases, as Foden and catcher Darek Bishop conspired on three passed balls.  The third one allowed Blair-Brown to score and make it 13-2 Toronto.

A single by rightfielder Dre Celestijn to start the bottom of the 9th was followed by a couple more singles off the bats of Molleson and Seto.  Celestijn scored on Seto's hit, but that would be all as Wagner closed out his fourth inning of relief to clinch a 13-3 FINAL for Toronto.


Toronto 13-18-0
Hamilton 3-7-3

W - Cicatello (3-1, 4.05)
L - Lazar (1-3, 9.60)
S - Wagner (1)


BOXSCORE


Back to .500, the Maple Leafs are in 5th place in the IBL Standings.  They will look to lay another beating on these same Cardinals on Sunday, June 25 at Christie Pits.

Battered in Barrie

Game 18: Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats - June 23, 2016

Baycats win 10-2

                                                                                                                                                                                           FILE PHOTO

Battered.  Fried.  Served up like a plate of halibut.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Barrie Baycats at Coates Stadium last night.  The final score was 10-2.

Barrie erupted for six runs in the third inning and never looked back.  Kyle DeGrace delivered the coup de grâce in the eighth inning with a three-run homer, giving him five RBIs on the night.

Toronto starter Brett van Pelt was tagged for six runs (five earned) over just four innings.  Marek Deska, Matt Fiorini and Dillan Mulholland pitched the remaining four innings. 

The Leafs were unable to mount a comeback in this one.  Dan Marra (above) led at the plate with three hits and an RBI, but after starter Brett Lawson departed in the sixth, the Barrie bullpen shut the visitors down.


Toronto 2-11-2
Barrie 10-16-0

W - Lawson (4-1, 5.13)
L - van Pelt (1-3, 9.00)


BOXSCORE


The Maple Leafs' 8-9 record leaves them in 5th place in the IBL standings.  They will attempt to get back to winning ways tonight at Bernie Arbour Stadium against the Hamilton Cardinals.

Mattson Shows Guelph "Who's Your Daddy?"

Game 17: Guelph Royals at Toronto Maple Leafs - June 19, 2016

Leafs win 11-8

Father's Day 2016.

It was the hottest day of the year in Toronto -- feeling like 35 degrees in the cauldron of Christie Pits -- and the hometown Maple Leafs laid an old fashioned beatdown on the visiting Guelph Royals.

Sean Mattson (above) led the way with three hits, including a 2-run home run and a bases-clearing double.  Mattson racked up six RBIs on the afternoon.  He was certainly Guelph's daddy on this day, as the Leafs won 11-8.

The game was never in doubt -- that is, until the final innings.  Toronto had jumped out to an 11-0 lead after five, but the Christie Mystique threatened to turn against them late.  

After a fine seven-inning performance by Dillon Mulholland, the Leafs' bullpen withered under the sun and the Royals started driving in runs.  Guelph scored seven in the final two innings to make the final result a close one.

All told, Toronto batters clouted 16 hits today.  Connor Lewis, Jon Waltenbury, Johnathan Solazzo, Justin Marra and Ryan White each had two hits.  One of Solazzo's hits was his third home run of the season.  Grant Tamane, Matt Blair-Brown and Damon Topolie each added one hit to the tally. 

With this win the Mapes break a three-game losing streak, and now they can cast a laser-like focus on greater glories to come.


Game Recap:


The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Guelph Royals on a sweltering Father's Day afternoon at Christie Pits.  Dillon Mulholland was on the bump for the local nine, versus Richard Gill.

After Mulholland pitched a perfect top of the 1st, the Leafs went to work on Gill.  Left fielder Grant Tamane led off with a single, centerfielder Connor Lewis followed with a single, and rightfielder Jon Waltenbury walked to load the bases.  Third baseman Sean Mattson drove them all in with a bases-clearing double.  Catcher Justin Marra singled next, and an RBI single by manager-DH Damon Topolie scored Mattson, making it 4-0 Leafs after one inning of play.

The Leafs scored two more in the bottom of the 2nd.  Leading off again, Tamane was hit by a pitch from Gill.  He moved up two bases on singles by Waltenbury and by first baseman Johnathan Solazzo.  A single by Mattson scored Tamane, and a fielder's choice by Justin Marra scored Waltenbury to make it 6-0 after two.

The Leafs struck again in the bottom of the 4th.  Solazzo took first when Gill hit him with a pitch.  Mattson then knocked a home run to put two more runs on the board.  Justin Marra singled right after him and advanced to second on a fielding error.  Second baseman Dan Marra drove in brother Justin with a sac fly and it was 9-0 Leafs through four.

As if they sensed the game was not yet out of reach, the Leafs piled it on in the bottom of the 5th.  Alexander Gowing relieved Gill to start the inning.  After two quick outs, he gave up a single to Waltenbury, followed by a two-run homer by Solazzo.  11-0 Leafs after five innings of play.

The baseball gods flipped a switch at the top of the 6th, and the Royals began putting runs on the board.  Mulholland walked first baseman Matt Schmidt to start the inning, then gave up singles to catcher Patrick Coughlin and third baseman Adam Rossit to load the bases.  Schmidt scored on the next play, which saw shortstop Trevor Nyp reach first base on an error by Leafs shortstop Ryan White.  11-1 Leafs through six.

David Ertl relieved Mulholland to start the 8th inning.  He gave up a single to Rossit and a double to Nyp.  Pinch hitter Aaron Loder grounded out but drove in Rossit in the process, making it 11-2 Leafs going into the 9th inning.

And that was when the Leafs almost fell victim to the Christie Mystique themselves.  Matt Fiorini came in to pitch.  He gave up a leadoff walk to Guelph's leadoff man, shortstop Kingsley Alarcon.  Leftfielder Keegan Marsden singled next.  Schmidt followed with a flyout.  The Royals loaded the bases when rightfielder Chandler McLaren reached safely on an error by Dan Marra.  Fiorini then walked in a run as Coughlin advanced to first, scoring Alarcon.  A sac fly by Rossit brought Marsden in to score.  Nyp followed with a single that scored McLaren.  Loder was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases.  Facing his ninth batter of the inning, Fiorini uncorked a wild pitch to centerfielder Santino Silvestri, allowing Coughlin to score.  Adam Garner came on in relief, and he surrendered a two-RBI single to Alarcon.  The Royals had now scored six runs in the 9th inning, but that would be as close as they got on this day.  Garner got Marsden to groundout next, ending the game and securing an 11-8 FINAL for Toronto.


Guelph 8-11-1
Toronto 11-16-3

W - Mulholland (2-2, 6.60)
L - Gill (2-1, 6.28)


BOXSCORE


Back to .500, the Maple Leafs are in 5th place in the IBL Standings.  Their next game is on Thursday, June 23 when they travel way up north to take on the Barry's Bay Cats.

Leafs Fall Short in Brantford

Game 16: Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox - June 17, 2016

Red Sox win 8-4

It was a night that Brantford's mosquitos will fondly remember, wrapping up a week that the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to forget.

The Leafs fell behind early at Arnold Anderson Stadium last night.  As night set in, the scoreboard showed a 5-0 lead for the Red Sox and clouds of ravenous skeeters descended on the place.  

The Leafs forged a mid-game rally but they weren't able to overhaul the Sox.  Brantford tacked on some runs late in the game and held on for an 8-4 win before the few brave souls who remained in the park with the bug swarm.

Graham Tebbit earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of work.

The home side jumped on starter Brett van Pelt for six runs over four innings.  Lee Delfino led Brantford's scoring assault with three RBIs.  

Marek Deska, Adam Marra and Adam Garner combined to pitch the final four innings, as the Leafs' bats battled back.

Grant Tamane hit a two-run double in the sixth inning, adding to RBIs by Dan Marra and Matt Blair-Brown.  Jon Waltenbury hit a double along with two singles.  Ultimately the Leafs couldn't complete the comeback, and they lost their third game in a row to end a lousy week.


Game Recap:


After the summer sun finally dipped behind the outfield trees at Arnold Anderson Stadium, the Brantford Red Sox took the field to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Graham Tebbit made the start against Brett van Pelt.

In the bottom of the first inning, centerfielder Nate DeSouza put the Red Sox on the board first with a triple that scored leftfielder Nic Burdett.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 3rd, a big swing by first baseman Lee Delfino resulted in a three-run double.  A single by DH Dan Jagdeo drove in Delfino and made it 5-0 Red Sox after three innings of play.

The Leafs got a run back in the top of the 4th.  With third baseman Johnathan Solazzo on second and DH Sean Mattson on first, second baseman Dan Marra stepped up to the plate and delivered a single to drive in Solazzo.  5-1 Red Sox midway through the 4th.

Brantford got the run right back in the bottom of the 4th, when a wild pitch by van Pelt allowed another run to score.  6-1 Red Sox after four.

In the top of the 6th, the Leafs got as close to the Sox as they would.  With Dan Marra on third, pinch hitter Matt Blair-Brown singled to drive him in.  Centerfielder Connor Lewis reached base next, and leftfielder Grant Tamane rapped a double to score both Lewis and Blair-Brown.  6-4 Red Sox after six.

A wild play in the bottom of the 8th resulted in two more runs for the Red Sox.  Third baseman Jeff Hunt was on first base after being hit by an Adam Marra pitch.  Adam Garner came on in relief of Marra.  On Garner's first pitch, second baseman Benjamin Bostick bunted and raced for first.  There followed two errors charged to first baseman Jon Waltenbury, allowing Hunt to score and Bostick to go all the way around and follow him across the plate.  8-4 Brantford after eight innings.

The Leafs got two men aboard in the 9th, but Tanner Guindon prevented any more runs from scoring and closed out an 8-4 FINAL for the Red Sox.


Toronto 4-11-3
Brantford 8-9-0

W - Tebbit (2-1, 6.33)
L - van Pelt (1-2, 9.00)


BOXSCORE


The 7-8 Maple Leafs now sit in 5th place in the IBL Standings.  They return to Christie Pits this Sunday, June 19th for a Father's Day tilt with the Guelph Royals.

Blankety-Blank

Game 15: Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers - June 16, 2016

Panthers win 9-0

                                                                                                                                                                                           FILE PHOTO

The early story of the 2016 IBL season went something like: "Everyone beats everyone else and the Panthers rule over all."

Clearly the class of the league, the black cats of Kitchener entered this week with an 11-1 record.  However, they suddenly dropped two games in a row, losing at home to Burlington and Brantford.

Normal service was resumed tonight as the Panthers blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 9-0 at Jack Couch Park.

Rather than being done in by one big inning, it was death by a thousand cuts for the Leafs.  The Panthers scored one or two runs at a time, but they put runs on the board in six different innings.  

Tanner Nivins and Sean Reilly led the scoring for Kitchener with a home run and two RBIs each.  Jonathan Brouse drove in a pair, and Justin Interisano and Mike Glinka also drove in one run each.

The Leafs scraped out just five singles en route to being shut out.  Cuban Noelvis Entenza pitched seven innings and David Whiteside came in to finish the job.

I got nothing else.


Toronto 0-5-2
Kitchener 9-12-0

W - Entenza (4-1, 4.86)
L - Rumion (0-2, 8.18)


BOXSCORE


With a 7-7 record, the Maple Leafs slip to fifth place in the IBL Standings.  Their end-of-the-week road trip continues in Brantford tomorrow night, June 17, when they will take on the Red Sox.

London Calling

Game 14: London Majors at Toronto Maple Leafs - June 12, 2016

Majors win 13-5

On a breezy Sunday afternoon at Christie Pits, the Toronto Maple Leafs jumped all over London Majors pitching for ten hits and five runs.

Connor Lewis and Grant Tamane led the hit parade as they both racked up three hits on the day.  Justin Marra drove in a pair of runs to continue his weekend-long hot streak.  There was hardly a Leafs batter who didn't figure into the action before a packed house on this June day that truly marked the start of summer in Toronto.

London scored 13 runs.

Yeah, seriously, this one was over after a couple of innings.  

The Majors went to town on Leafs starter Dillan Mulholland.  After just two innings, they had belted out 10 hits and 10 runs against the Toronto starter.  It was more than enough for the day.  The Leafs scratched out some runs late in the game, but the visitors cruised to a 13-5 victory.


Game Recap:


It was a sunny but windy day at Christie Pits as the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the London Majors.  Dillan Mulholland got the start for the home side against Oscar Perez.

The Majors made their mark early, sending 12 men to the plate in the 1st inning and putting the game out of reach right away.  Shortstop Keith Kandel singled and catcher Michael Ambrose walked.  Frank Thomas body double Cleveland Brownlee stepped up to the plate next, and he hit one of the longest home runs Christie Pits has ever seen.  It not only cleared the fence, but it cleared the trees behind the fence and landed somewhere in the soccer field beyond the tree line.  It was a well hit ball.  While the Pits were still buzzing over that escapade, rightfielder LeJon Baker came up to bat next, and he too blasted a home run off Mulholland.  DH Elis Jimenez walked next, and left fielder Humberto Ruiz doubled after that.  Third baseman RJ Fuhr singled next to drive in Jimenez.  Second baseman Carlos Arteaga doubled after that to score Ruiz.  When the top of the 1st inning was finally over, London had compiled a 6-0 lead. 

The Majors piled it on in the top of the 2nd.  Brownlee led off the inning with a walk.  The Majors then hit four straight singles: Baker, Jimenez (driving in Brownlee), Ruiz and Fuhr (driving in Baker).  Arteaga was up next, and he reached first on an error by first baseman Jon Waltenbury.  Jimenez scored on the play.  Kandel was up next and he grounded out into a double play, but Ruiz came in to score, and it was 10-0 London after two innings.

London scored again in the top of the 5th.  Centerfielder Byron Reichstein doubled off Mulholland, then Ambrose singled to drive him in and make it 11-0.

Adam Marra relieved Mulholland to start the top of the 6th, and he pitched two scoreless innings for Toronto.

The home side finally got on the board in the 6th.  Shortstop Connor Lewis singled to lead off the inning.  He was followed by centerfielder Grant Tamane who also singled.  Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo hit into a fielder's choice that saw Tamane rubbed out at second while Lewis advanced to third.  A walk to DH Sean Mattson loaded the bases.  Catcher Justin Marra was up next, and he smashed a double that scored Lewis and Solazzo.  Mattson followed them all the way around from first and slid safely into home... but he was called out on a phantom tag by the London catcher.  The Leafs hotly disputed the call, but the play stood as called and Mattson was out to end the inning.  A potential game-changing rally was snuffed out, and it was 11-2 London after six innings of play.

Pitcher Brett van Pelt returned to action for the Leafs today, relieving Marra to start the top of the 8th inning.  He got through the 8th giving up just one hit, but London got to him in the 9th.  Kandel doubled to lead off the final inning, and scored on a double by pinch hitter Tristan Buntrock.  A wild pitch moved Buntrock to third, and he scored on a groundout by pinch hitter Kyle Gormandy.  That made it 13-2 for the Majors heading into the bottom of the 9th.

It looked like the Christie Mystique might strike in the bottom of the 9th, as Toronto started a late rally against reliever Todd Leavitt.  Marra singled, pinch hitter Matt Blair-Brown walked, and pinch hitter Julio Guzman singled to score Marra.  A single by Lewis scored Blair-Brown.  A grounder by Tamane was misplayed for an error, allowing him to reach first base safely as Guzman scored.  Unfortunately that was it for the Leafs on this day, as first baseman Jon Waltenbury flied out to center to end the game and preserve a 13-5 FINAL for London.

London 13-17-1
Toronto 5-10-1

W - Perez (2-1, 2.95)
L - Mulholland (1-2, 8.21)


BOXSCORE


Today's loss sees the Maple Leafs slip to 4th place in the IBL standings with a 7-6 record.

Their next game will be on the road in Kitchener on Thursday, June 16 against the first place Panthers.