Blue Jays vs. Giants Preview: George Springer looks to build on team home run lead

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Toronto Blue Jays will begin a six-game homestand against the San Francisco Giants. Both teams had lost two consecutive games and three of their past four prior to the break, so they will be looking to turn things around as they begin the second half of the MLB season. The Blue Jays are currently in first place in the American League East while the Giants are third in the National League West and battling it out for a wild card playoff spot.

The Jays have had significant contributions from many of their players in recent weeks, but none more surprising than that of veteran star outfielder George Springer. After enduring a disappointing down season in 2024 that saw a sharp decline in his numbers across the board, nobody saw a big 2025 campaign from Springer, at least not until now.

Blue Jays vs. Giants Preview: George Springer looks to build on team home run lead

At the start of the season, if someone predicted that Springer would be leading the Jays in home runs at the All-Star break, no one would have believed it. But he we are, and the 35-year-old veteran holds the team lead with 16 dingers so far in 2025, a good three home runs ahead of breakout player Addison Barger. More importantly, Springer has looked like the All-Star Springer of old, coming through in the clutch moments and propelling the team to victory.

On the season, he has batted a solid .270 with an .853 OPS, along with 53 runs scored, 16 doubles, 16 home runs and 53 RBIs in 90 games played. More impressively, Springer has hit .293 with an .833 OPS when hitting with runners in scoring position with two outs, in addition to a whopping .556 average and 1.722 OPS when batting with the bases loaded this season. That’s what you call a true offensive leader of the team, coming up with the big hit when it matters most. 

With his entire career spent in the American League, Springer has seen limited time against the Giants. However, he has been effective nonetheless as in 11 games, he has posted a .300 average, .914 OPS, with six runs scored, four doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs. As a result, Springer will look to further increase his team lead in home runs when he faces San Francisco this weekend series. 

As for the starting pitching, the Jays will start with Chris Bassitt (9-4, 4.12 ERA), followed by Eric Lauer (4-2, 2.78 ERA) and José Berríos (5-4, 3.75 ERA). The Giants will counter with former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander (0-7, 4.70 ERA),who is still looking for his first win of the 2025 season, to lead things off. From there, San Francisco has yet to announce the rest of their pitching rotation following the break, so the Jays should prepare for anything that will be thrown their way.

With the New York Yankees and suddenly a surging Boston Red Sox squad that hasn’t lost in 10 games hit on the Jays’ tail, Toronto will need to get off to a good start following the All-Star break to keep their rivals at bay. Nevertheless, it should be an exciting yet tough grind to the end as the Jays begin their quest to make the postseason on Friday.