Leafs’ Woes Continue with Fourth Straight Loss to Hamilton

By Noam Streiffer 

The Maple Leafs’ struggles continued as they dropped their fourth game in a row, falling 13–3 to the Hamilton Cardinals on Saturday night at Christie Pits. It marked their eighth consecutive home loss and dropped them to five games below .500 on the season.

Josh Berenbaum got the start for Toronto and looked solid through five innings, allowing three runs—only two of them earned.

On the Hamilton side, Corben Peters had a strong outing of his own, pitching five innings of one-run ball en route to the win.

Toronto got on the board early in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Dennis Dei Baning. The hit pushed Dei Baning’s batting average above .300 on the season and was one of four hits he recorded on the night.

That would be the only lead Toronto held. Hamilton answered in the top of the third with a base hit and a two-run home run to take a 3–1 lead.

The game remained close until the seventh, when Hamilton broke things open with a nine-run inning against Drew Howard and Jeremy Newton, stretching their lead to 12 runs.

Toronto added a run in the eighth on a Luca Boscarino RBI single, but Hamilton immediately responded with a Jaden Brown solo home run to restore their 11-run cushion.

Jordan Castaldo capped the Leafs’ scoring with a solo home run in the ninth—his 500th career RBI—but the rally was short-lived as the Leafs ultimately fell 13–3.

Up next: Toronto continues their extended homestand with a matchup against the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23.