Leafs rebound from early deficit to beat Cards
HAMILTON -- The Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded from an early five-run deficit to hand Hamilton a 20-7 loss Friday night.
Third-place Toronto (14-14) trailed 6-1 entering the third inning before its bats came alive in a 21-hit effort. Marcus Knecht hit a grand slam in the fifth and scored three times, Jordan Castaldo went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and four runs, Justin Marra went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBI and two runs, Sean Reilly -- August's Player of the Month -- singled three times and drove in three, Johnathan Solazzo and Dan Marra each had three hits and scored three times, Connor Lewis went 2-for-6 with three RBI and two runs, Chandler McLaren picked up an RBI, and Garret Takamatsu added a pair of singles.
Andrew Hyde (1-3) earned the win in 3.1 innings of relief, allowing a run on one hit with two walks and four strikeouts. Starter Marek Deska went four innings and yielded six runs on 10 hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
For Hamilton (11-17), which sits in sixth, Chris Procopio went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI, Ryan Burnside singled, homered and drove in two, and Justin Gideon went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Matt Lonetto singled, doubled and scored, and Brandon Nieva had two hits, an RBI and a run.
Ben Braun (3-3) took the loss, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in three innings. He walked four and struck out two.