Maple Leafs snap losing skid with 6-4 win

By Rob Vona

The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Brantford Red Sox on July 14 at Dominico Field by a score of 6-4, breaking their five-game losing streak and closing the gap on Brantford for the final playoff spot in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL). 

The Red Sox would open the scoring in the first inning, scoring on a misplayed ball from Maple Leafs right-fielder Marcus Knecht, which allowed for the visitors to take a 1-0 lead.

A lengthy rain delay paused the game for nearly two hours, but the Maple Leafs would quickly find themselves with bases loaded and zero outs, first-baseman Jordan Castaldo drove in one run with a single into right-field, before a fielder’s choice would manufacture a second run for Toronto. 

Knecht got his revenge and smashed a double into centre-field, cashing two more runs to give the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead. 

Sam Greene came into relief for the Maple Leafs and registered a clean five innings of work that saw him surrender only two earned runs on six hits, while striking out five batters. 

“I’m really proud of how we stayed focused through that rain delay,” said Greene following the game. “This is a group of guys that like being around each other.”

A quiet offensive stretch from both sides saw the scoreboard remain at 4-3 in favour of Toronto until the sixth inning when left-fielder Ryan Dos Santos laid down a bunt that would score another two runs on a throwing error. 

Now leading 6-4, the Maple Leafs brought in Dustin Richardson in the eighth inning in search of the six-out save. 

Richardson was forced to exit the game after injuring his hamstring while running to first in the bottom half of the eighth inning, so the Maple Leafs turned to Greg Carrington to record the final three outs of the ballgame. 

“Everybody let out a gasp when it happened, even though he doesn’t have to in that situation, you can’t take the dog out of the beast,” said Maple Leafs centre-fielder Connor Lewis on Richardson. “He’s a different animal.”

With the sudden notice that he would be entering the game to pitch, Carrington worked swiftly through the ninth inning, retiring the side in order to capture his first career save in the IBL, as well as the 6-4 victory for the Maple Leafs. 

“We’re a playoff team, we're a veteran squad, we just need to make the playoffs and we know no one wants to see us in the playoffs because they know it’s going to be a hard-fought battle,” said Lewis when asked about the Maple Leafs playoff hopes. 

The Maple Leafs now sit just half a game back of Brantford for the eighth and final playoff spot with 15 games to go. 

Up next, the Maple Leafs host the Barrie Baycats for a Wednesday night game at 7:30 p.m.