Abbie Parr-USA TODAY Sports
George Springer Avoids Major Injury In Blue Jays Loss
The Blue Jays managed to catch one break Saturday night.
Though Toronto lost 9-3 and star outfielder George Springer left the game in a disastrous seventh inning, Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo got good news after the contest.
"Man, I'll be alright," Springer told Montoyo after the loss.
Reaching for a deep fly ball, Springer collapsed to the warning track, clutching his ankle in the seventh. The outfielder walked off under his own power, but needed help down the dugout steps, and was removed from the game with what manager Montoyo described as "mild ankle sprain." X-rays were negative and he'll be day-to-day, Montoyo said.
In his first season with the Blue Jays, Springer has missed much of the year with quad and oblique injuries and re-injuries. The $150 million-dollar addition has played in just 48 of Toronto's first 115 games in 2021, due to injury. When he's played, Springer's been effective, winning back-to-back AL Player of the Week honors, but the Blue Jays need him.
"It's been hectic, it’s been crazy," Springer said about his season last week, "It didn't really start the way I wanted it to start, obviously getting hurt, but at this point it's about staying in the moment, staying present."
In the seventh inning Saturday, the Luis Torrens home run was an afterthought. The three-run homer, followed by a solo shot seconds later, was merely a brief distraction from the bigger issue. In a matter of moments, the Blue Jays went from leading Saturday’s game to falling behind 6-3 and losing their star outfielder to injury.
Toronto's starter Hyun Jin Ryu was in control for most of his outing, commanding the outside corner with his fastball and change. But, like everything for the Blue Jays in the seventh inning, things soured for Ryu in his final frame. The Ty France triple that saw Springer leave the game and an Abraham Toro walk ended Ryu’s day and wound up on his stat line minutes later.
“I just really hope that it’s not a big injury,” Ryu said on Springer after his start. “Any time in a game when your teammate gets injured like that, it’s just not something you want to see.”
After Trevor Richards allowed consecutive homers, Tayler Saucedo ended the brutal seventh with a strikeout. But the damage was done. As the Springer injury loomed, balls bounced around the diamond while several Blue Jay misplays solidified Toronto's loss on the scoreboard, 9-3. They did, however, avoid a bigger loss in Springer.
“That was a scary moment for the whole team,” Montoyo said.
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