Yusei Kikuchi’s spring training shutout streak comes to an end as Blue Jays drop both split-squad games to Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have finally gotten revenge for 1993.

They beat the Blue Jays by a score of 4-2 at home in Clearwater and they also pounded the Blue Jays by a score of 8-1 in Dunedin, earning themselves a Grapefruit League split-squad sweep. Flags fly forever!
Things worth mentioning…

Yusei Kikuchi had been perhaps the biggest story at camp for the Blue Jays, as he went 9 2/3 innings in his first four appearances of spring without allowing a run. Kikuchi’s spring shutout came to an end on Friday, unfortunately, as he walked the first two batters of the game, Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm, and then allowed a double to Jake Cave. Kikuchi allowed one more run to score in the first frame on a sac fly but he settled down and found his groove after that. All told, he went three-and-one-third innings and allowed two earned runs on one hit and three walks while striking out three.

Kikuchi says he’s very happy with where he’s at right now, feeling free to let loose & attack hitters instead of thinking about mechanics.
Yusei did today’s post-game interview in English without an interpreter (after joking that I had to ask my questions in Japanese). #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 17, 2023

Following Kikuchi, Adrian Hernandez and Paul Fry both got knocked around and combine …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Scouting Report: What the Toronto Maple Leafs are getting in Ryan Tverberg?

The Toronto Maple Leafs finally signed a college prospect. Woo!
But… it wasn’t the one everyone was expecting. Still, while we await the end of Matthew Knies’ college season with Minnesota, it was good to see the Leafs sign another notable NCAA forward: Ryan Tverberg from the UConn Huskies.
Tverberg was a seventh-round pick in 2020, with the Leafs moving a 2021 pick to acquire him. Their scouting department got an up-close look at him during the 2019-20 season with the OJHL’s Toronto Jr. Canadiens, where he had 26 goals and 51 points in just 47 games. He also showed a physical edge that wasn’t evident when he played a year of U-18 AAA instead of going straight to junior in 2018-19. Tverberg was a bit of a late-bloomer, but the leafs liked what they saw and took him with the fifth last pick of the 2020 draft – one spot behind top Buffalo Sabres prospect Devon Levi.

Ryan Tverberg, who just signed a future three-year ELC with the Maple Leafs, is on the ice before #Marlies practice wearing #77.
He’s on a PTO with the team for the remainder of the regular season and Calder Cup playoffs. pic.twitter.com/dAdjwXNFfI
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) March 15, 2023

Tverberg made an immediate impact with the Huskies, and he led the team with 15 goals this season en route to a 35-point junior cam …

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Author: Steven Ellis / The Leafs Nation

1 stud and 1 dud from Raptors opening night win over Cavaliers

1 stud and 1 dud from Raptors opening night win over Cavaliers

The Toronto Raptors finally got their 2022-23 campaign kicked off with a home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, one of many Eastern Conference foes who took a massive step in the right direction following some big offseason moves. Cleveland and Toronto will both be fighting to escape the randomness of the play-in. The first quarter […]
1 stud and 1 dud from Raptors opening night win over Cavaliers – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

5 very bold predictions ahead of Raptors’ 2022-23 season debut

5 very bold predictions ahead of Raptors’ 2022-23 season debut

Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors are finally set to make their 2022-23 season debut against Donovan Mitchell and the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers. Winning 48 games was an exceptionally high total, given the preseason expectations placed on this team last year, but they won’t be viewed as surprise darlings this year. Siakam, 2021 All-Star Fred […]
5 very bold predictions ahead of Raptors’ 2022-23 season debut – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Projecting the ideal Toronto Raptors rotation for 2022-23 season

Projecting the ideal Toronto Raptors rotation for 2022-23 season

The Toronto Raptors are finally ready to start competing for the 2022-23 championship, as their 3-2 preseason has come to a close. Last year, Toronto saw their run of good regular season fortune get squashed by the 76ers, who were able to take advantage of poor depth. This season promises to be different. While Otto […]
Projecting the ideal Toronto Raptors rotation for 2022-23 season – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

3 important lessons learned during 2022 Raptors preseason

3 important lessons learned during 2022 Raptors preseason

The Toronto Raptors are finally done with their 2022-23 preseason schedule, and they can bask in the relative glow of a 3-2 record. Toronto beat the rival Celtics twice, both of which required overtime, while dominating the Jazz by 32 points in Edmonton early in the preseason. While the Raptors certainly have more positives to […]
3 important lessons learned during 2022 Raptors preseason – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Make or Break: the 2022-23 Leafs goaltending primer

Make or Break: the 2022-23 Leafs goaltending primer

The NHL season is finally upon us, and with it, another season of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey begins.
Among the fans of this team, I’m sure that there have been a variety of approaches to this season. Many will be back, as interested as ever, analyzing the opening lineup and consuming all of the content that they can get their hands on. Others may be feeling apathetic about it all. And who could blame them after yet another first-round disappointment?
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’ve been at least mildly engaged with the team and their moves during the off-season. It certainly has not been a summer without intriguing storylines. While most of the moves made during the summer are interesting individually, they have all been colored by one theme: this is Kyle Dubas’ last shot. Notably, Dubas, with one year left on his contract, has not been given an extension as General Manager of the Leafs. Rightly or wrongly, every move made since the Game 7 loss to Tampa Bay will be seen to have a very direct impact on the job security of Dubas.
This brings us to goaltending. The most notable roster moves for the Leafs this summer were in the crease. Fan-favor …

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Author: Colin Hunter / The Leafs Nation

Fitting Rasmus Sandin into the Toronto Maple Leafs line-up

Fitting Rasmus Sandin into the Toronto Maple Leafs line-up

Rasmus Sandin has finally signed a new contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and now the coaches will need to find the best place for him in the line-up.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are no longer waiting for any remaining restricted free agents to sign a new deal with the team after it was announced that Rasmus Sandin had agreed to a two-year, $1.4 million AAV contract. It is reportedly the same contract that was offered to the young Swedish defenceman earlier in the summer and is the exact same deal that fellow countryman and teammate Timothy Liljegren penned this past off-season.
Now that the deal is signed, and there hasn’t been such a long and drawn-out situation that could make people sour on the 22-year-old, fans can rejoice that the Leafs have one of their better young players locked up and can now simply focus on playing hockey. That would be easier to do, however, if the Leafs were not suffering the slew of injuries that seemingly prompted Sandin to get his deal done this week.
With the injuries, though, comes the opportunity for Sandin to cement his position within the Leafs’ top six defencemen early on this season. This poses an interesting question of where will Sandin most likely fit into the team once h …

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Author: James Reeve / The Leafs Nation

Whit Merrifield sparks win behind Alek Manoah’s huge start

We finally have the answer to if giving up Max Castillo and Samad Taylor to the Royals for Whit Merrifield was worth it. Hell yes, it was. Whit Merrifield is a Blue Jay.

Of all the pain that Tropicana Field has caused the Blue Jays, Merrifield has seemed to find his former batting title self while playing down in Tampa. His 7th inning 3-run home run off of Rays reliever Brooks Raley sealed the deal on a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay, as well as changed the tone for how this series has been going.
The Blue Jays had just stranded the bases loaded in the 6th, as they were in the midst of a pitching duel between Alek Manoah and Drew Rasmussen. Chances to pounce on the relentless Rays pitching were dwindling down, but the bottom of Toronto’s order came through.
Teoscar Hernandez doubled with one out in the 7th, forcing Rasmussen to leave the game in favor of Raley. Danny Jansen walked, setting the stage for Merrifield.

BIG HIT WHIT @WhitMerrifield pic.twitter.com/jBAxkDo2J5
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 25, 2022

Merrifield skied a first-pitch slider to the left-field seats for his fourth home run as a Blue Jay. As a fan, it was quite the moment watching Merrifield trot around the bases with a lot of emotion. The recent injury to Santiago Espinal has opened the door for more playing time for Merrifield, and he is taking full advantage.
Thus far in this series, Merrifield is 5-for-11 with three home runs and six RBIs. It’s almost comical how much he has been the “secret weapon” for the Jays against the Rays. It’s important to note that he had the clutch hit to put Toronto ahead during a September 13th win over these Rays during the late innings.
Merrifield’s big hit also gave Alek Manoah a win; a reward for the Big Man’s excellent outing. Manoah didn’t allow his first hit until the 4th inning, en route to a 7 inning, four hit and no run performance.
Jordan Romano finished the game off with a 4-out save, a reassuring sight to see after two straight blown saves.
Manoah has continued to be the MVP of this Blue Jays team, and everyone is running out of adjectives to describe how much he has meant to this team. He also continues to be the go-to guy after a loss, as this win tonight by the Jays came when they absolutely needed it. The win put the Jays back …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Notes and quotes from Day 1 of Maple Leafs development camp

Development camp is finally here! For the first time in three years, the Toronto Maple Leafs are hosting their development camp in the regularly slotted time frame in July with both CHL and NCAA prospects in attendance, in addition to a few others from the professional ranks.
The Leafs Nation’s Nick Barden is attending development camp, so be sure to check out his recap from Day 1.
The Leafs had multiple availabilities on a busy Day 1 of dev camp, including the head of the player development department, Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, as well as Toronto’s first picks in the 2021 and 2022 drafts in Matt Knies and Fraser Minten.
Without further delay, let’s dive into things.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
On her promotion to Assistant General Manager
“Nothing changes in the day-to-day of what I’ve been doing here the last year and a half. It’s obviously a huge honour to be working here with the Leafs. I love what I do every single day, it’s been great.”
It’s not a surprise to see that despite the promotion to Assistant General Manager, Hayley Wickenheiser’s role remains essentially the same with the Maple Leafs. The promotions of Wickenheiser, Ryan Hardy, and Darryl Metcalf were less about assigning new tasks and more about re-organizing the titles in the organization.
On Matt Knies’ decision to go back to the NCAA
“Physically, [Matt Knies] is a big boy. He’s got all the tools. There’s a lot of respect that goes to the players to understand where they are at this point in time in their career and what t …

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Author: Kyle Cushman / The Leafs Nation