Demise of the Dinosaurs

Game 6: Toronto Maple Leafs at Burlington Herd, May 26, 2018

Leafs win 6-3

It was a throwback game of a different sort yesterday in Burlington.

At Nelson Park, they proclaimed it Dino Day, promising a pair of marauding T-Rexes and a dino-themed bouncy castle. The castle never materialized -- perhaps due to a forecast of possible thunderstorms. However, "Rex" and "Tammy" made a sensational appearance midway through the game, terrorizing small children and running a race around the bases between innings.

Presumably, the nine Herd players on the field were meant to represent a herd of dinos for the day.

And, like the actual dinosaurs, they were obliterated by a devastating force out of their control.

That would be the Toronto Maple Leafs, who rained home runs like meteors on the ballpark.

The tone was set in the first inning. Mike Reeves, playing second base and leading off, launched a home run over the fence in right field to give the visitors an instant lead.

In the fourth inning, DH Damon Topolie (above) mashed his first tater of the season -- a two-run shot that made it 3-0 for Toronto.

Finally, in the top of the sixth, third baseman Johnathan Solazzo smashed another two-run home run so hard it left a contrail streaming over center-left. Solazzo's blast turned out to be a game winner, as the Leafs rode out to a 6-3 FINAL victory.

Centerfielder Connor Lewis scored Toronto's sixth run of the game in the top of the ninth, capping off a three-hit day that raised his batting average to .429.

Starting on the mound for the Mapes was Pedro De Los Santos. Clearly unfazed by prehistoric monsters, he pitched six innings and held Burlington to three unearned runs en route to his first win of the season.

Any thoughts of a hometown comeback were crushed by a dominant relief performance from Marek Deska, who pitched three scorching innings. Deska struck out six and surrendered just two hits for a classic three-inning save.


Toronto 6-13-2
Burlington 3-8-1

W - De Los Santos (1-0, 1.97)
L - Boatto (0-2, 3.85)
S - Deska (1)


BOXSCORE


The 5-1 Leafs return to Christie Pits this afternoon to take on the Hamilton Cardinals.

No Quit

Game 5: Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers, May 24, 2018

Panthers win 9-7

After seven innings of play at Jack Couch Park last night, fans started trickling away into the night. 

The hometown Kitchener Panthers had savagely attacked the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs and racked up a 9-2 score by that point. With six outs to go, in an early season game, with rosters still incomplete and nothing on the line, it was easy to write this one off and head home.

But these are Leafs of a new, determined variety.

It had started in the top of the seventh, with the top of the order due up and the Leafs down 8-0. Catcher Mike Reeves singled to center, then came all the way around to score when leftfielder Justin Marra hit one to left field. Fielding errors by Kitchener saw Marra end up at third and Reeves slid home safely. Reeves chugged into the visitors' dugout, urging his teammates on. The V-necks responded. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo drove in Marra on a groundout, but Kitchener was able to snuff out that rally and keep the score at 8-2. 

The Panthers added another run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-2.

The Leafs mounted a bigger rally in the top of the eighth. DH Garrett Takamatsu singled to lead off. A single by second baseman Dan Marra, and a walk to shortstop Adam Odd loaded the bases. Reeves returned to the plate and hit one to second, which was played for an error. Everyone moved up a base and Takamatsu scored. That brought Justin Marra up, and he blasted a grand slam to make it a 9-7 ballgame. Shock the monkey!  Or Panther as it were.  The Kitchener bullpen was suddenly at risk of blowing a huge lead, and the game.

Miguel Lahera put out the growing blaze. He came out of the Kitchener bullpen for the ninth -- the Panthers' fifth pitcher of the game -- and was able to hold off Toronto and seal a 9-7 FINAL for the home side.

R.J. Page lasted 5.1 innings on the mound for Toronto, and took the loss. He was relieved by Adam Marra, who pitched the remaining 2.2 innings.

Justin Marra's homer was his league-leading fourth. His 10 RBIs tie him with Kitchener's Keegan Marsden atop the leaderboard. 

Despite the loss, the Leafs showed a No Quit attitude which will pay off as the season continues.

Toronto 7-8-2
Kitchener 9-10-5

W - Hauck (2-0, 0.00)
L - Page (1-1, 6.51)
S - Lahera (1)


BOXSCORE


The 4-1 Leafs continue this road trip on Saturday afternoon, May 26th, with a stop at the Barn in Burlington to face the still-winless Herd.