Pontus Holmberg’s “world class” play, Max Ellis’ climb up the lineup, and more: Marlies Weekly

Pontus Holmberg’s “world class” play, Max Ellis’ climb up the lineup, and more: Marlies Weekly

Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing at the moment for the Toronto Marlies.
The team played two games this week — both in Toronto on Monday and Saturday — winning them both. Each game, whether it was against the Utica Comets or Laval Rocket, were very close.
Their first game of the week, against Utica, was a hard-fought 3-1 win at Scotiabank Arena. Defenceman Matt Hellickson scored his first of the season, while both Max Ellis and Bobby McMann continued to ride their hot hand, also scoring.
Keith Petruzzelli, who’s only played three full games since their last Scotiabank Arena matinee (on Boxing Day), stopped 33 of 34 shots, improving to 12-5-0 on the season with a .904 save percentage.
After Monday’s matchup, Toronto had a couple of days off before gearing up for another big game later in the week. That game — against Laval — was just as tough, or maybe even tougher than the one against Utica.
Graham Slaggert was the first player to get the Marlies on the board, courtesy of some nice work from himself and the rest of the fourth line (Marc Johnstone and Zach Solow). It seems as though whoever plays alongside Slaggert and Johnstone fits immediately.
Laval would get on the board eight minutes into the seco …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

Raptors rumors: Executives bracing for “fireworks” if Toronto keeps losing

Raptors rumors: Executives bracing for “fireworks” if Toronto keeps losing

The Toronto Raptors surprised many around the NBA by winning 48 games last year, but this team hasn’t been as much of a pain to play against during the 2022-23 campaign. Masai Ujiri and his team currently stand at 13-13 with losses to the Magic, Pacers, and Thunder on the ledger. The Raptors have been […]
Raptors rumors: Executives bracing for “fireworks” if Toronto keeps losing – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

A Blue Jays fan’s guide to the rest of the playoffs – who’s still in the mix?

With the Yankees winning yesterday, the matchups for the ALCS and NLCS are set. Since Blue Jays faithful are forced to watch four teams not named Toronto fight it out, here are some names that might sway you toward an interest in a team winning the World Series.

Houston Astros
Aledmys Díaz – Diaz was traded to Toronto before the 2018 season from the St. Louis Cardinals. Toronto gave away JB Woodman, but it’s safe to say that the Blue Jays won this deal. Diaz turned out to be one of the better hitters in Toronto’s lineup in 2018, hitting 18 homers and 55 RBIs. More importantly, Diaz saw a lot of action at third base, mainly due to Josh Donaldson missing most of the season with injuries.
In November of 2018, Diaz was traded to the Astros for Trent Thornton. Diaz has been a very nice piece for Houston. Over four seasons with the Astros, Diaz has totaled 32 home runs and 129 RBIs while batting .255.
Although the 2018 season was forgetful for many Jays fans, Diaz’ contributions should be acknowledged by many, and it’d be worth cheering him on for the rest of the playoffs.
Yuli Gurriel – Despite having no affiliation to the Toronto Blue Jays, Gurriel is the older brother of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the current left fielder in Toronto. They have both made their mark by h …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

A big strike zone helped Martin Perez carve up the Blue Jays on Sunday

Winning the first two games of the series was an absolute must for the Blue Jays. John Schneider had planned for a bullpen day on Sunday, and the Blue Jays were facing Martin Perez, the Rangers’ ace in the series finale.

Toronto couldn’t overcome the above, as they fell to Texas 4-1 and failed to sweep the series.
Perez was dealing, which should come as no surprise since he has been having a career season with the Rangers. He was a hot topic at the trade deadline, as he was a name that floated around trade talks with a few teams including the Blue Jays. Perez threw six innings, giving up six hits, one run, two walks, and striking out seven.
Perez was solid, but he also got a few beneficial calls from home plate umpire Rob Drake. Multiple Blue Jays hitters were displeased with Drake’s strike zone, mainly Bo Bichette. Bichette went 1-for-4 on the day, but in all three of his at-bats resulting in outs, he took issue with at least one of Drake’s calls. This included his strikeout looking in the top of the 3rd, in which Bichette stopped to have a back-and-forth with Drake explaining that he felt differently about Drake’s Doug Eddings-esque strike zone. Bo was …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation