LATE COMEBACK PROPELS TORONTO TO EXTRA-INNINGS WIN

Written by: Olivia Byrne

On the outside looking into a playoff spot, every game matters for the Toronto Maple Leafs right now. Currently sitting at 6th place in the CBL standings, Toronto gained some small ground with their dramatic, 10-9 win over the Brantford Red Sox on Friday night.

After a brief sun delay, the Maple Leafs were itching to get the ball rolling early on in this ballgame. 

Hitting leadoff, Brando Leroux drew a four-pitch walk. A quick lineout from Yasiel Puig brought up Yordan Manduley, who went 3-for-3 with a walk and 4 RBI during his last game. After taking two balls, the third pitch got by the Brantford catcher, allowing Leroux to move from first to second. 

Just like Leroux, Manduley would also take a four-pitch walk, putting two men on with one out for JJ Dutton. With a 1-1 count to Dutton, Leroux and Manduley initiated the double steal to put them both in scoring position. Unfortunately, Dutton would strikeout four pitches later.

Crix Taveras was up, and on the first pitch he saw, hit a grounder to the Brantford second baseman to end the inning. 

Nick Veselinovic got the start for Toronto tonight, and the Red Sox didn’t make it an easy one. The first batter Veselinovic faced was Jakob Cantor, who took a 7-pitch at-bat before eventually driving the ball into center field. 

On an 0-1 count to the next man up, Cantor slid into second with ease to put himself in scoring position. Veselinovic would get his first strikeout of the evening on just two more pitches. Cantor would gain an extra 90 feet after a wild pitch skipped to the backstop. 

Three pitches later, Cantor would score on a sacrifice fly, putting the first run on the board for Brantford.

After the 1st, both sides then went quiet. The heart and hustle that the Maple Leafs showed early in the first seemed to wear off until the 5th inning.

Manduley was the first to bat this time around, and opposing pitcher Elian Serrata wanted nothing to do with him. Four pitches later, Manduley trotted to first base. Dutton was the next man up, striking out on five pitches to bring Taveras to the plate.

The first pitch Taveras saw hit him, putting Manduley in scoring position with just one out. As Marcus Knecht stood in the box, swinging at the first pitch he saw, he would take the next three to walk and load up the bases. 

Matt Brandt was now at the dish; he had a chance to do some serious damage. After five pitches, Serrata would issue his third walk of the inning, bringing Manduley home as a result. 

With the score tied at 1-1 and the bases still loaded, Dennis Dei Baning and Spenser Ross both struck out to end the inning. 

Brantford came into the bottom of the 5th looking to really put Veselinovic to work. The leadoff man for the Red Sox faced five pitches before eventually striking out on the sixth. Eight-hole hitter Cassidy Watt stepped into the box, and Veselinovic had to throw six more pitches, this time resulting in a walk. 

Having one man on and just one out, Lucas Lefebvre drove the ball into center field on the first pitch Veselinovic threw, bringing up the top of the order once again. Cantor had already left an impression on Veselinovic after speeding around every base in the 1st inning. 

But this time, it was Veselinovic who would come away with the victory. After another six-pitch battle, Cantor would eventually fly out to Dutton for the second out of the inning.

A recurring theme for both teams tonight seemed to be the number six. The Red Sox had already had three six-pitch at-bats, and their fourth came when Brody Black worked a walk on (once again) six pitches.

During this at-bat, Watt and Lefebvre initiated a double steal, inching closer to regaining the lead. Black walked to load the bases and bring up Christian Ortega.

Ortega hit a line drive past Taveras, and as it rolled into right field, the bases cleared, making it a 4-1 ballgame. 

The misery continued into the 6th, as Toronto put up yet another scoreless half-inning, and Brantford scored two more runs off of consecutive hits, bringing the score to 6-1.

After successfully escaping the 6th, Veselinovic’s day was done, and Frankie Gulko was brought in to pitch in the 7th. With all the momentum on their side, the Red Sox kept tacking on. Black opened the half-inning with a triple on the second pitch he saw, and Ortega brought him home with the help of an error from Manduley. 

Down by six heading into the 8th, things seemed just about over for Toronto. But the Leafs didn’t hear any bell.

Brandt got the ball rolling, working a six-pitch walk from new pitcher Anthony Porcellato. Then came Dei Baning, who singled to right field on the second pitch he saw. After another six-pitch at-bat, Ross walked to load up the bases with nobody out.

As the top of Toronto’s order came up once again, it didn’t take long for Leroux to find his pitch and swing, sending the ball flying into left field. Dei Baning and Brandt came in to score, cutting the Maple Leafs’ deficit to four.

Puig reached safely on a fielder’s choice, resulting in the first out at second base. However, things had started to shift in Toronto’s favour. The inning wasn’t over yet. 

With Ross at third base and Manduley at the dish, Puig stole second. Although Manduley would hit one right to the mound, resulting in a groundout, the Maple Leafs had one more chance to make some magic happen in this inning.

Up came Dutton, who swung hard at the first pitch he saw, raking it into right field. The ball rolled further and further, allowing both Ross and Puig to safely score, making it a 7-5 ballgame. 

That was the final straw for Porcellato, and he was pulled from the game. 

Replaced with Jorge De La Cruz, the new Brantford pitcher would walk Taveras, then strike out Knecht to end the inning. 

Toronto had one last chance in the 9th, and things weren’t looking good. Brandt was the first batter to face De La Cruz, who was back out for a full inning of work. On six pitches, he would fly out, bringing the Maple Leafs down to just two outs.

Dei Baning rolled the ball into center field once more, but then was tagged out on a fielder’s choice for the second out. The tying run now at the plate, Leroux hit one just past Brantford’s first baseman to safely get on. 

Then came Yasiel Puig, who was almost immediately intentionally walked. 

Manduley, undoubtedly one of Toronto’s hottest hitters right now, stepped into the box. On his fourth pitch, he shot the ball past the infield and into center. As it continued to roll, Leroux and Ross both came home to score, tying the game up at seven apiece.

A clean inning from Reinaldo De Paula meant that this game was going into extra innings. The Maple Leafs had only gone into extras one other time this season, and it resulted in a loss.

In the 10th, both teams had clean 1-2-3 innings, the complete opposite of what the 11th would be. 

With De La Cruz still in to pitch for Brantford, Dei Baning faced an eight-pitch battle that would eventually result in a walk. With Brandt as the extra innings ‘ghost runner,’ two men were on for Ross. 

Ross stepped up to the dish and tried to lay down a sac bunt to advance Brandt to third. De La Cruz ran to pick it up, and while trying to throw it to the Brantford third baseman, he threw it over his head and into left field.

As the ball rolled further, Brandt was able to safely score, giving Toronto their first lead of the night.

Wanting to add some insurance runs, leadoff man Leroux drove the ball into left field after seeing three pitches. Both Ross and Dei Baning scored with ease, bringing the score to 10-7.

The victory was so close that Toronto could almost taste it, but they still had to get through the bottom of the 11th first. Luis Florentino was the extra innings man for the Maple Leafs tonight, getting the first out of the last inning immediately on a flyout.

Brantford’s lineup flipped over, bringing Cantor back to the dish for one last hurrah. After swinging at the first pitch he saw, Cantor would then take three in a row before driving one into left field. The play moved Watt, Brantford’s ghost runner, to third, putting the Red Sox in an ideal position to get some runs on the board.

Runners on the corners, combined with the winning run at the plate for the Red Sox, meant stress was high for Toronto. While Florentino did his best to remain calm in a big spot, Cantor stole second base, putting more pressure on the Leafs’ reliever. 

Black had already tripled once this game, and did it again just four innings later, bringing home both Candor and Watt to make it a 10-9 ballgame.

Down to a one-run lead, Florentino started rolling, recording the final two outs in just three pitches. Once the game ended, the whole Maple Leafs team could breathe a huge sigh of relief. 

A scrappy, come-from-behind extra-innings win was everything this team needed tonight, showcasing that Toronto never quits, even when the odds are stacked against them.

UP NEXT: The Toronto Maple Leafs head home to play the London Majors on Aug. 8. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.