Yasiel Puig Homers Twice to Power the Leafs to an Opening Day Win

Written by: Noam Streiffer

It's Opening Day at Christie Pits as we get set for another season of Maple Leafs Baseball, but this season there are a couple of major changes. The newly professional Canadian Baseball League (CBL) is in its inaugural season. The Leafs have also welcomed former MLB All-Star Yasiel Puig to the team, adding more talent to an already exciting season in the CBL.

In today’s game, the Leafs took on the Kitchener Panthers, who finished one spot below them in 8th place last season. Yadian Martinez got the start against his former team. He had a good outing, throwing five innings and allowing three earned runs, which was enough to pick up the win.

The Panthers got on the board first. Yunior Ibarra hustled his way to the plate, scoring on a double play in the 2nd. But the Leafs quickly bounced back, scoring four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Matthew Fabian followed by a three-run shot by Puig, which set the tone for the Leafs bats to start the season.

The Panthers wouldn't go down easy though, making it a 4-3 game thanks to extra-base hits from Yosuke Fujie and Trent Lawson. But this was quickly answered by a two-run 5th inning, including Puig’s second homer of the game.

When asked about his leadership, Puig said, “Not yet, everyone is doing amazing today. Day to day, I’m going to be talking to the guys and helping the most I can,” clearly showing a humble attitude and a drive to earn his place in the clubhouse.

In the top of the 7th, some command issues from Wilgenis Alvarado allowed two more runs to score on bases-loaded walks, but it would not be enough. A two-run shot from Dennis Dei Baning in the bottom half would be enough to secure the win for Toronto, even with an RBI double from Kitchener in the 8th.

Newly acquired two-way prospect Kyle Poapst put out the fire in the 8th and locked things down in the 9th, earning the save and securing the 8-6 victory for the Maple Leafs.

“It was euphoric, man. It's a beautiful day for baseball… I was just excited to help my team win and to get the ball in a spot like that. That's what I dream of,” Poapst commented postgame.

Coming Up: The Leafs head north on Thursday to take on last season's runner-up, the Barrie Baycats. First pitch is set for 7:38 PM.