Blue Jays lose George Springer after taking 96 mph pitch to knee

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From the regular season through the playoffs, George Springer was a huge force in the Blue Jays offense, a key player in and out of games.

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So the Jays justifiably had serious concerns about the veteran's ability to continue after he pitched from his right knee in Friday's Game 5 of the ALCS. The pitch, which appeared to hit him fairly squarely in the kneecap, caused enough pain to force Springer to leave the deciding game of the best-of-three series.

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As he has throughout the playoffs, Springer was a central figure in Friday's action, delivering an RBI double in the fifth inning to score Alejandro Kirk in the Jays' first game, a series tied at 1-1 at the time.

But in his next at-bat in the seventh inning, with the Jays leading 2-1, Springer was hit by a 95.6 mph sinker off Mariners reliever Brian Wu.

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Unable to get off the field, Springer collapsed onto the batter's back in obvious pain. It took him several minutes to achieve his feat, and after cautious attempts to gain early pace, manager John Schneider decided to replace Springer with Joey Loperfido.

Although Springer's status was not immediately available, the Jays could not afford to lose their dangerous hitter.

Springer has three homers so far this postseason, the last of which was Wednesday, the 22nd of his postseason career, which ranks him fourth most in MLB history. With a double on Friday, Springer has recorded extra-base hits in four straight postseason games.

After Friday's game, the series returns to the Rogers Center in Toronto for Game 6 on Sunday and, if necessary, a deciding Game 7 on Monday.

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