Majors finish a rough weekend

Written by Dan Haugh/photo by Morgan Roobroeck

The London Majors dropped both halves of a doubleheader at Jack Couch Park in Kitchener on Sunday July 7th,

The Kitchener Panthers won both games, by scores of 14-4 and 6-2 The first game was a continuation of a game that was suspended by inclement weather on June 6th.

With those two victories, the Kitchener extended their current winning streak to five games. Panthers record improved to 9-14 and moved them up in the standings to sixth place.

The Majors slipped into a second place tie with Guelph and Barrie, but they still have the second most wins in the IBL with a record of 14-9.

Kitchener starter Yaidan Martinez recorded his first win of the season while Victor Payano took the loss.

There was not much for London fans to cheer about tonight, particularly in the first game, but there was one positive note. London´s veteran DH Cleveland Brownlee hit home runs in both games. Those home runs were his first and second home runs of the 2024 season. It is safe tosay that Cleveland Brownlee likes Jack Couch Park.

In the first game London´s four runs came on 13 hits. Eduardo De Oleo had three singles, Victor Plaz and Tristan Osika had two hits each. Kaiden Cardoso hit his fourth home run of the season in the ninth inning. Champ Garner. Starling Joseph, Brad Verhoeven, and Byron Reichstein had one hit each.

In the second game Kitchener took the lead in the first inning on a Simon Grinberg solo home run. Cleveland Brownlee tied it up in the second on his second home run of the season. After Kitchener went ahead in the bottom of the second inning London tied the game at 2-2 when Byron Reichstein singled and was driven in by a Gibson Krzeminski RBI single.

Kitchener rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning of the seven-inning nightcap to seal the 6-2 win..

Jose Arias was on the mound for London in all six innings. He took the loss giving up six runs on 10 hits while striking out nine Panthers batters. Jose Vasquez got the win for Kitchener

Next action for the London Majors will be Friday July 12 when the Guelph Royals visit Labatt Park