MAPLE LEAFS' TWO-GAME WIN STREAK ENDS IN 17-4 LOSS TO ROYALS

Written by: Noam Streiffer

The Maple Leafs' two-game win streak came to an end against the Guelph Royals on Wednesday night, falling 17-4 at Dominico Field.

The Royals got off to a fast start, scoring five runs before the Leafs even stepped up to the plate. Antony Gilbert started the scoring with a solo home run before a slew of RBI singles put Guelph firmly in the driver's seat.

Leafs starter Yadian Martinez managed to settle in after a long first inning, but some chaos on the basepaths by Ryan Dos Santos allowed him to score on a sacrifice fly, chasing Martinez from the game and extending Guelph's lead to 6-0.

Kyle Poapst came on in relief and surrendered a run in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, but the Leafs responded in the bottom half of the inning with home runs from Crix Taveras and Yasiel Puig to cut the deficit to 7-3.

The Royals continued to pile on, scoring four runs in the seventh and six more in the eighth to reach 17 runs and put the game well out of reach for the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs managed to tack on one more run in the bottom of the eighth on a Marcus Knecht RBI single, bringing the final score to 17-4.

Next Up: The Leafs return to Christie Pits on Friday night as they look to bounce back against the always-dangerous Welland Jackfish. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.