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Tag: George Springer

  • George Springer’s epic home run helps send the Toronto Blue Jays to the World Series with ALCS Game 7 win over Seattle

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    (CNN) — The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to their first World Series since 1993 after a dramatic 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

    Things were looking bleak for the Blue Jays until designated hitter George Springer delivered a huge three-run home run in the seventh inning as Toronto surged into the lead.

    Springer’s late-inning heroics set up a compelling World Series match-up pitting the American League’s best team against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

    The Mariners opened the must-win game with an exciting first inning that featured a little bit of everything. Julio Rodriguez opened the game with a lead-off double down the left field line to set the table for Seattle.

    Seattle’s MVP candidate, Cal Raleigh, then struck out swinging at a high fastball, but Josh Naylor picked up his teammate with a single to drive in Rodriguez with the game’s first run.

    Controversy followed when Jorge Polanco hit a groundball to Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement, who was shaded toward shortstop. Clement took the ball to second base himself and whipped the ball towards first base for a would-be inning-ending double play.

    But Clement’s throw ricocheted wildly off the helmet of baserunner Naylor, allowing Polanco to reach first base safely. Replays showed Naylor turn his back toward the oncoming throw and leap into the air as the ball caromed off the crown of his helmet.

    After a huddle in the infield, the six-man umpiring crew determined that Naylor had deliberately obstructed Clement’s throw and called Polanco out at first to end the inning.

    The Blue Jays carried that momentum into the bottom of the first inning and tied the game 1-1 on a soft groundball single from Daulton Varsho.

    After a scoreless second inning, Rodriguez led off the third inning with a solo home run off Shane Bieber to put the Mariners back in front 2-1. The blast was Rodriguez’s third of the series.

    Raleigh, who led MLB with 60 home runs during the regular season, smacked his fifth long ball of the playoffs, his fourth against the Jays, to extend the M’s lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning.

    The mood was getting very nervous in Toronto’s Rogers Centre as the game reached the seventh inning stretch with the home team trailing and time running out on the Blue Jays’ season.

    But a walk and a softly hit single set the stage for Blue Jays’ lead-off hitter Springer, the 2017 World Series MVP with the Houston Astros.

    Facing Eduardo Bazardo, fresh into the game from the bullpen, Springer cranked a three-run homer to catapult the Blue Jays into the lead for the first time in the game at 4-3. The crowd at the Rogers Centre erupted as Springer rounded the bases as the unforgettable moment played out.

    Toronto’s George Springer celebrates his three run home run in the seventh inning of ALCS Game 7. Credit: Mark Blinch / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Toronto then turned to its bullpen to close the game out,

    Chris Bassitt pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth, striking out all three Mariners batters he faced to end the game and send the Canadian crowd into ecstasy.

    After the victory, Springer was asked about what he would remember about his dramatic moment. A modest Springer replied, “The at-bats before me. If it’s not for those guys, that moment doesn’t happen.

    “I’m so happy for our team, our fans, our city, our country. I am so happy right now,” he told Fox Sports while the joyous crowd cheered.

    Springer was forced to leave Game 5 of the series after getting hit in the knee by a pitch and appeared to be in discomfort in Games 6 and 7. When asked about the pain, he doubled down on his love for Toronto. “I owe it to these fans, this city, this country to give it my all. It doesn’t matter. So, I’ll take it,” he said.

    Toronto superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named ALCS MVP after batting .385 and crushing three home runs in the series.

    The Blue Jays will host the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

    As for the crestfallen Mariners, they remain the only franchise in Major League Baseball yet to appear in a World Series.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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    Kevin Dotson and CNN

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  • George Springer’s 3-run homer lifts Blue Jays over Mariners to win AL pennant, reach World Series

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    For the first time since 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays are heading to the World Series. 

    And they can thank the man who has won one for the chance. 

    In the bottom of the seventh inning, with runners on second and third with nobody out, George Springer stepped to the plate with the chance to tie a 3-1 ball game in favor of the Seattle Mariners, a team desperate for its first-ever World Series appearance in franchise history. 

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    Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer (4) hits a three run home run against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning during game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre on Oct. 20, 2025. (John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images)

    Springer decided to do one better, sitting on a fastball from Eduard Bazardo and launching it over the left field fence to take a 4-3 lead. That was the swing needed for the Blue Jays to cement their American League pennant victory. 

    The Blue Jays will now face the reigning-champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night. 

    BLUE JAYS FORCE GAME 7 WITH CRUCIAL WIN OVER MARINERS

    This was a series filled with theatrics from the very start, but the Blue Jays found themselves heading back home down 3-2 in the series and needing two straight victories to be crowned pennant winners. They made that happen on Sunday night, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger delivered home runs to force a win-or-go-home Game 7. 

    But Monday night didn’t start the way Toronto would’ve liked, as Josh Naylor put Seattle ahead early with an RBI single to score Julio Rodriguez. However, Daulton Varsho, who has been another clutch Blue Jays hitter throughout the postseason, smacked a single to center to score Springer to knot the game at one apiece. 

    Julio Rodriguez hits home run

    Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) hits a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning during game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre on Oct. 20, 2025.  (Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images)

    Then, in the top of the third inning, Rodriguez got the Mariners back on top, belting a solo home run to deep left center field. And who other than Cal Raleigh, the AL MVP hopeful, coming through when his team needed him with a solo home run himself to make it a 3-1 ball game in the top of the fifth inning. 

    With the Mariners’ pitching staff being one of the best in baseball all year, there were options for who to deploy late in the game considering it was an all-hands-on-deck situation. Mariners manager Dan Wilson went with Bryan Woo after George Kirby gave him four innings, and Woo gave him clean fifth and sixth innings. 

    But Woo opened the door with a walk to Barger to begin the seventh inning, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa woke up Rogers Centre with a single that left runners on first and second with nobody out. After Andres Gimenez moved them over with a sacrifice bunt, Bazardo came in to face Springer. 

    Springer came out on top. 

    Jeff Hoffman finished off the Mariners in the ninth inning, striking out all three batters, including Rodriguez, to start the celebration. 

    George Springer celebrates home run

    Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer (4) celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a three run home run against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning during game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre on Oct. 20, 2025. (Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images)

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    The Blue Jays are hoping they can do what that team did in 1993, as the Toronto team secured back-to-back World Series titles that season.

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    Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

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  • Freddie Freeman’s record-tying home run propels Dodgers to commanding 3-0 World Series lead

    Freddie Freeman’s record-tying home run propels Dodgers to commanding 3-0 World Series lead

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    (CNN) — Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman tied a World Series record after homering in his fifth consecutive Fall Classic game Monday night as the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-2 in Game 3.

    The Dodgers are now just one win away from the franchise’s eighth World Series championship.

    Freeman connected on a two-run homer off Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt in the first inning at Yankee Stadium to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead. The 35-year-old joins Houston Astros outfielder George Springer as the only players to accomplish the feat.

    Freeman hit a home run in Games 5 and 6 as a member of the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves against the Astros.

    After the game, Freeman downplayed the accomplishment.

    “When it’s all said and done, I can look at that. But the most important thing is one more win. That’s all I care about right now,” he said. “I don’t care how it happens. I just want to get one more win.”

    Freeman is one of three players to homer in the first three games of the World Series following Barry Bonds for the San Francisco Giants in 2002 and Hank Bauer for the Yankees in 1958.

    Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler baffled the Yankees’ hitters. Buehler struck out five across five scoreless innings while giving up two hits to pick up the victory.

    “I think the playoffs or big games has always been the only thing I really cared about,” said Buehler, who returned midseason after missing almost two full years following elbow surgery.

    ”I was kind of awful all year, and I think that once you get to the playoffs – the adrenaline, the momentum – I think whatever fear I had about my elbow or trying to throw a certain pitch or whatever goes away because it’s all now. It’s all go.”

    Schmidt gave up three runs on two hits while walking four in 2.2 innings and took the loss.

    Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani started following a shoulder injury scare in Game 2. During players’ introductions, it appeared that the Japanese superstar was wearing a sling as he ran onto the field. He batted in his usual spot at the top of the order.

    Ohtani went hitless on the night, but reached base twice on a walk and a hit by pitch. He scored on Freeman’s home run. He appeared to wince in pain during multiple swings and held onto his jersey while on the base paths in an apparent attempt to limit how much his shoulder was moving.

    Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani wasn’t feeling his best during an in-game interview in the fourth inning, but acknowledged the slugger being in the batter’s box was a presence for the team.

    After the game, Roberts was appreciative of Ohtani’s effort.

    “I thought he did a really nice job of competing. I don’t think that it got any worse,” Roberts said. “Obviously just him in the batter’s box starting the game off, getting on base by way of walk. I just really appreciate him posting tonight.”

    There was a bit of late drama and a spark of hope for the Yankees when left fielder Alex Verdugo launched a two-run home run to bring the New Yorkers within two. But second basemen Gleyber Torres grounded out to shortstop to end the game during the next at-bat.

    Los Angeles takes a commanding three games to none lead in the best-of-seven series into Tuesday night’s Game 4 in New York.

    The Dodgers will be seeking the first World Series sweep since 2012.

    “We’re trying to get a game tomorrow,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the defeat. “That’s where our focus lies. So hopefully we can go be this amazing story and shock the world.

    “But right now it’s about trying to get a lead, trying to grab a game and force another one and then on from there. But we got to grab one first.”

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    CNN

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