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Baldwin Does It All, Cycling and Walking Off to Win it for Toronto

Six days ago, few Toronto Maple Leafs fans had ever heard of Danny Baldwin; after all, he was still a member of the New Orleans Zephyrs six days ago, and had never played for another team. Even his June 14 trade, in which Toronto flipped a low-level 2B, barely registered for Leafs fans. But today, after a performance for the ages, they may never forget him.

The start for Toronto went to SP Nate Thorne, who entered with a 3-7 record and a 3.65 ERA that was something of a mirage, given a 5.39 FIP and 133 FIP-. It didn’t take Philadelphia’s lineup long to get to him, with a pair of rookies doing damage: 2B/SP Jarrod Taylor, in just his second game in the bigs, doubled and moved to third on Rookie of the Year candidate Mike Mitchell’s single. He scored on a fielder’s choice, giving the Athletics an early 1-0 lead.
In addition to batting second for the A’s, Taylor also had the start, and did well, setting Toronto down in order on a pop up and two flyouts. Thorne matched him there, with two Ks and a groundout to first for a 1-2-3 second. The next two frames passed just as easily.

In the bottom of the third, though, Toronto’s #7 hitter became the Leafs first baserunner of the day. Danny Baldwin had been traded from the New Orleans organization on the 14th, and in 14 at bats since had collected just a single hit. But on a 2-1 pitch from Taylor, he connected, lofting a ball into left, over the head of Carlos Ponce. The 31 year old Baldwin had 14 career homers to his name, so Ponce had been playing him shallow, and the ball was able to skip up against the wall and roll a bit before Ponce got there. When he finally collected it and sent it back to the infield, Baldwin was sliding headfirst into third with a triple. A Jim David grounder scored him, tying things at 1.

The top of the fourth passed without incident, and Taylro got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning before Jim Yoder walked on four straight. RF Barry Miller drilled the first pitch of his AB into deep center, over Mitchell, for another triple - this one scoring a run rather than setting one up. 2-1 Toronto.

Thorne and Taylor remained locked at 2-1 until the 6th inning. In the top half, Thorne escaped a jam, as a walk to Josiah Morgan and a throwing error by catcher Mike Vizzini put men on second and third, but Thorne dropped Pedro Guzman and Frank Barnes on consecutive strikeouts to get out of it with the lead.

Taylor got two outs to start the bottom half, but then Danny Baldwin - already 1-1 with a triple and an HBP - stepped to the plate and drilled a 1-1 pitch just far enough, clearing the right field fence toward center field for a solo homer to give Toronto a 3-1 lead.

After Francisco Ojeda reached on an error and advanced to second on a groundout in the top of the 7th, Thorne was pulled in favor of John Clowers, who got Toronto out of it to preserve the 3-1 score; Taylor, too, had to pitch out of a jam after he allowed a single to Eddie Santana and hit Jon Moore with two outs. Benni Phillips put a charge into one that off that bat looked like it might extend Toronto’s lead further, but it died in the wind and settled into RF Spence’s glove for the final out. So, the game turned to the eighth, with Toronto up 3-1.

With one out, Matt Spence fouled off three tough pitches in order to work a seven pitch walk. The next batter, Carlos Ponce, had struggled terribly through the first two months of the season, entering the night batting .148/.220/.265, but he’d homered in consecutive games with a couple hits in each. He kept those streaks alive, driving a 1-1 pitch 405 feet and well back into Toronto’s second deck for a two run, game tying homer that gave Philadelphia new life.

The next inning and a half were fraught with near misses for both clubs. In the bottom of the eighth, a Danny Baldwin double and a Jim Davis walk were squandered when Mike Vizzini flew out harmlessly to center. In the top of the ninth, Brett Reed led off with a walk for the A’s, and went to third on a double with one out. That led to the game’s strangest play, as Mike Mitchell tried to check a swing and instead rolled a ball up the third base line. Andres Arenas, on in relief, bounded towards it and gloved it, looking Baldwin back to third. But he failed to account for Mitchell’s speed, and took too long to whirl for the throw to first. Though it was a good one, Mitchell beat it to load the bases with one down. A battle between Arenas and Josiah Morgan, though, ended in a dramatic strikeout on a questionable pitch on the lower outside corner for out #2. Matt Spence’s strikeout was more clear cut, as the outfielder swung through a 1-2 knuckle curve to get Philly out of it alive.

Philly righthander Ryan Ratliff came on for the ninth. With 24 Ks in 15 innings on the season, Ratiff had become manager Jason Cafarella’s go-to relief ace, and at first it looked like that decision had been the right one as Ratliff dropped Eddie Santana on four pitches, the last one an unhittable slider that Santana didn’t hit. But then Chris Herry doubled, and with the lefty power hitter Jon Moore on his way up, Cafarella turned to lefty Dennis Seaman. Seaman got Moore on strikes, and put Benni Phillips on to try to deal with lefty Jim Yoder. But John Whitworth sent right handed backup catcher Zach Breland up instead, and the patient pinch hitter worked a five pitch walk to load the bases. Barry Miller came up, and took ball one, but on ball two he laid into one hard. For a minute it looked like a game winner, but he had pulled it just a bit too much, and it passed by to the left of the LF foul pole for a long strike. Breland fouled the next straight back, but then froze on a fastball on the outside corner for an inning ending K. The game was headed to extras.

Yoshihiko Kawaguchi came in for Arenas, but immediately gave up a single to Carlos Ponce, then advanced him on a wild pitch. A walk put runners on first and second, but two fly outs and a K ended that threat as well, and Toronto survived the inning. The bottom of the tenth was nearly as tense, as Toronto tried a little small ball - a Baldwin walk gave way to a sac bunt and a sac fly to put him on third. But Eddie Santana grounded out to third, and the game went to 11.

A Mike Mitchell single gave Philly some hope in the top of the 11th, but Breland gunned him down trying to steal, with a Josiah Morgan strikeout ending it for the A’s. That brought Toronto up for the 11th, and the Leafs got things going out of the gate as Chris Herry smacked a leadoff single. Jon Moore followed with the same, putting runners on first and second; an out later, Breland loaded them up with a base hit of his own. Barry Miller struck out, though, and up cane Danny Baldwin, with two down and the bases loaded, needing a single for the cycle and the ballgame.

Baldwin had never in his life faced a moment like this, he later told a Toronto Observer reporter, not even in Little League. He took ball one, a sinker that dropped below the knees. He took strike one, too - a fastball that nicked the outside corner at the knees. Seaman busted the lefty 2B in with a fastball on the next pitch, but Baldwin swung. It caught the bat up the handle, splintering it. The bat skittered forward between the pitcher and the 1B line, but the ball floated over the head of the first baseman, dropping into shallow right as Herry came in to score. Baldwin had just finished the game of his life, giving the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs the most satisfying win of their young season.