Toronto Evens Series With 11-3 Explosion at Christie Pits
By Noam Streiffer
It’s playoff time at Christie Pits, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are taking on the Barrie Baycats in Game Two of a five-game semifinal series.
Game One didn’t go the Leafs’ way—despite a tight matchup, a combination of hits, walks, and a passed ball from Justin Marra in the bottom of the 9th led to a heartbreaking 3-2 loss on Thursday night.
Heading into Saturday night’s Game Two with a need to prove themselves in front of their home crowd, the Leafs responded in a big way—delivering a dominant 11-3 win to even the series at 1-1.
Franklin Hernandez got the start in this critical matchup. The midseason acquisition pitched to a 4.90 ERA in 22 innings this season while striking out 30 batters.
Hernandez gave the Leafs a strong outing, throwing six innings and allowing three runs on five hits. The bullpen duo of Matt Brown and Taylor Lepard closed it out, combining for three innings of shutout baseball.
Hernandez spoke postgame about the defense standing behind him: “I never doubted it, I was certain this group had what it takes to perform like that defensively.”
Barrie opened the scoring early with a first-inning home run from Francisco Hernandez, but Toronto quickly responded. Jordan Castaldo grounded into a run-scoring double play that brought Ryan Dos Santos in from third.
Toronto added two more runs in the bottom of the third with RBI singles from Castaldo and Jhon Javier to take a 3-1 lead. Javier went a perfect 4-for-4 on the night.
Javier spoke postgame about his success: “I always look for pitches in the zone and today it worked for me, I was seeing it well and felling it well."
Noel McGarry Doyle brought Barrie within one with a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the top of the fifth, but Toronto pulled away again. Castaldo drove in another with a sacrifice fly, followed by a solo home run from Luca Boscarino to make it 5-2.
Barrie scored once more in the sixth thanks to a defensive miscue by Toronto, but it ultimately didn’t matter. The Leafs exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth—highlighted by home runs from both Marra brothers—to seal an 11-3 victory.
Dan Marra reflected on the team's emotional bounce-back from Thursday’s tough loss:
“It felt really good, as close to a must-win as I think you can have as far as emotions go. Yesterday was deflating. We didn't play great, but when you're a few outs away from winning the ballgame, for it to turn so quickly against a team like Barrie…it was deflating.”
Nothing changed. Yesterday we struck out 16 or 17 times. We just can't put that much pressure on the pitching staff. Willy shoved yesterday. I think the approach didn't change—we just put more balls in play.”
Up Next: Game Three of the series is set for Sunday afternoon in Barrie. First pitch flies at 4:05 pm.