Blue Jays’ Springer still making impact while playing through pain

TORONTO – Soon after George Springer sent a line drive to center field to cash in the only run. Toronto Blue Jays after scoring in Game 6 of the World Series, the DH returned to the bench and raised his arms up so the black bandage could be wrapped around his torso.

Three games earlier, the 36-year-old Springer swung hard and immediately grabbed his right side, then walked straight to the dugout in obvious pain and never returned. After missing Games 4 and 5, Springer was back at the top of the lineup Friday.

As the Blue Jays suffered a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, meaning the deciding Game 7 of the World Series will take place at Rogers Center on Saturday (8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+), it was the leadoff hitter, playing in obvious pain, who provided one of the few hits the Blue Jays were able to muster against the ace. Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Toronto starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, who struck out eight and gave up three runs over six innings in the loss, said the black headband Springer wore was a “hypervolt,” a vibrating heat pack that “keeps you warm,” the right-hander explained.

Outfielder Myles Straw of Springer added, “I'm sure he wears a lot of stuff.”

And of course, deal with many things. Asked how badly Springer was hurt, center fielder Dalton Varsho smiled and said, “I think everyone knows.”

Springer isn't feeling great, but he's the guy whose single drove in Addison Barger to get the Blue Jays on the board in the third inning. Springer went 2-4 with his second hit coming in the eighth inning, although it did not materialize in the comeback effort Toronto needed to win the franchise's first World Series title in more than three decades.

That Springer returned to the lineup Friday to try to win that title was no surprise to anyone on the Blue Jays roster. In the ALCS, Springer hit a 95 mph pitch due to a kneecap and tried and failed to stay in the game, although he returned in the next game and played through obvious pain.

“You knew he wasn’t going to miss this game — he’s such a competitor,” Gausman said Friday. “And yeah, he probably feels terrible, between the knee and now the oblique – two things you really need if you swing the bat as hard as he does. I thought it was cool to see his name in the lineup, but I wasn't surprised.”

“You just expect him to do things that most other guys don’t do. And I think it sets the tone for everyone else that this is what is needed. It takes everyone, and maybe you're at 70 percent, but you give it everything you've got. Like, we got to this point obviously because of George.”

On Friday, it was also obvious to the naked eye that Springer was in labor. When he swung and missed, he flinched. When he checked the swing, it seemed uncomfortable.

As Blue Jays manager John Schneider put it, “I think if Georgie was… even if he wasn't good, he wouldn't have told me.”

“He's been playing through injuries probably his entire career, and tonight was no exception,” said assistant Davis Schneider, who was Springer's starter in Game 5 (and scored on the first pitch he saw). “You could tell he was in a little bit of pain, but he probably knew it. But he's our captain, he's our leader, so he'll be in the game no matter what.”

“He knows what's on the line, he's been here before, he knows how much the boys want it, the country wants it and everyone wants it, so he fights, but he's tough,” Straw added. “I’ve seen him do it before and I know it’s not easy, but he’ll be the guy to do it.”

In the bottom of the ninth, after a pair of runs, Straw was on first off Alejandro Kirk when Barger threw a ball into the left field wall that lodged between the wall and the turf and was not immediately played by the Dodgers. Straw and Barger both hit hits and treated it like an inside-the-park home run before returning to second and third as the ball was ruled unplayable.

One ball later, Andres Jimenez hit a ball into shallow left field that turned into a double play after Barger was caught trying to return to second. The game ended there, but if the double play had not occurred, Springer would have been on deck.

“Who knows what’s going on with that George at-bat,” Straw said. “We'll never know, but that's OK, turn the page and do it all again (Saturday).”

Game 7 is now underway for the Blue Jays. And the thing is, they won Game 7 last time out thanks to Springer, who proved that he's really good at making big plays when he's beaten down. He made that point emphatically in Game 7 of the ALCS when, three days after he took the pitch off his kneecap and left the game, he hit one of the biggest home runs in franchise history: the three-run shot that brought the Blue Jays here to the World Series.

Now, with the win missing the title, Springer is injured again and the stage is set for him to be the Blue Jays' injured hero in the biggest game in decades.

“I mean, one could hope, right? Catcher Tyler Heineman said with a grin. “His process is always so great and we just expect him to be in the moment and love the moment.”

And when it comes to Springer, you can count on that, even if it hurts.