Blue Jays: George Springer getting hot at just the right time

Someone on the Blue Jays is finally getting hot again at the plate, and no, it’s not Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette. It’s none other than 2x Silver Slugger George Springer, who is starting to look like his pre-injury self in the past two games against the Minnesota Twins, and it couldn’t happen at a better or more desperately needed time.

In what has been a very exciting year for Blue Jays fans, the 2017 World Series MVP has not had necessarily the same experience, missing more than half of the season due to injury. With injury comes extended time off, which leads to inconsistent plate appearances and unfortunately, this has been George’s reality this season.

His offence did start to heat up again in August though, but then an ugly play in the outfield sent the All-Star back to the Injured List. Since his return to the plate in September he was clearly trying his best to fight through his injury, playing with a knee brace and sometimes noticeably wincing as he ran the bases. His offence was really struggling, entering last Friday’s game hitting .164/.247/.260 in the month of September, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith.

It’s none other than Silver Slugger George Springer, who is starting to look like his pre-injury self in the past two games against the Minnesota Twins, and it couldn’t happen at a better or more desperately needed time.

It all changed on Saturday, starting with what Springer referred to as the “worst at bat he’s ever had,” when he swung and missed on three consecutive change-ups. His next at bat in the seventh inning however, Springer hit a two-run home run to left field against the Twins, adding on to the Blue Jays lead which ultimately led to a much-needed Toronto victory.

Maybe it was the motivation from the strikeout on the change-ups, the superb catch in the outfield earlier in the game, or the fact that he is finally playing back at his regular defensive position in centre field, but from then on it seems that we are finally getting to see the George Springer that we were all so excited to see wear a Jays new blue jersey this season. The Springer smile came back and just like that, so did the enthusiasm and joy in the dugout that had been missing during the recent losing streak.

In the final game of the series yesterday, Springer proved that Saturday’s game wasn’t just a one off and that he is back to being the slugger that we saw before the knee injury. He finished the final game against the Twins by going 3-4, including a solo shot to left field, his second home run in only two days.

With a crucial week coming up for the Blue Jays trying to chase a Wild Card spot in a very tight AL East race, Springer getting hot at the plate is one of the things that could really make the difference for the team, especially with the dominant Yankees coming to town on Tuesday. One can only hope that this will not only continue for Springer, but just maybe this is also the spark that the rest of the offence needs too.