Blue Jays back to .500 after sweep of Mariners
Photo credit: https://www.mlb.com/bluejays
The Toronto Blue Jays are flying home on a high note after sweeping the Seattle Mariners. Making it even more impressive was that this came against a Mariners team which had won nine series in a row.
Everything about Sunday pointed to a difficult sweep for the Blue Jays with José Urena on the mound and both Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander out of the lineup.
Everyone else did their job, though, which manager John Schneider has been preaching again after the Blue Jays got away from it during a recent skid.
The Blue Jays got big moments from where they needed them, including Springer's three-run blast, but also benefited from the best weekend of baseball Addison Barger has had as a professional.
As they piled on runs in the later innings, finally separating from an opponent instead of letting them stick around, it felt like we were watching a new team.
George Springer doesn't just look better in 2025, he looks like a completely different baseball player.
He's become the definition of what the Blue Jays want to do offensively, taking more chances to drive the baseball, even if that means a few more strikeouts along the way. It's working.
«I love this team,» Springer said. «I love the guys in the locker room. For me, it's about doing something every day to help the team win. It doesn't necessarily have to be a hit, even though I think everyone likes hits. I could walk or get hit by a pitch and score a run. I don't care. I'm just trying to do anything I can and have some fun with the boys in the process.»
Springer's three-run shot in the fifth was the exact moment the Blue Jays have been searching for in 2025 but rarely found, a big blast to turn a small lead into a big one.
Springer enjoyed every second of it, too, watching it soar 416 feet into the left-field bleachers at T-Mobile Park. This was Springer's fifth home run of the season, but he's also hitting for average and walking more than he ever has in his career.
«For one, we knew he was capable of this,» Schneider said. «He's understood when he's good and he's OK with that. It's about the in-between stuff when it's not a great game or great at-bat. I look to last year. Take his first at-bat tonight when he taps it back to the pitcher. That probably rolled into the rest of his day a bit last year, but he's not in that headspace right now. He hit that ball really hard. That was vintage George Springer. This is George Springer. He's a really, really good baseball player.»
The series didn't come without worry. Alejandro Kirk originally stayed in the game when Julio Rodriguez's bat caught him on a backswing in the third inning, but a couple of innings later -- after doubling and scoring -- Kirk was removed for Tyler Heineman.
Kirk has been diagnosed with a «head contusion» after the bat caught him in a strange spot and hurt his ear, too, Schneider said, but he'll be evaluated further Monday.
Kirk may be the last player on the roster the Blue Jays can afford to lose, given how well he's been swinging the bat and his value to the pitching staff.
Down in Triple-A, the Blue Jays have eight-year MLB veteran Christian Bethancourt, or Ali Sánchez, who brings more offensive upside with an .877 OPS for the Bisons.
SOURCE: MLB.com
CREDIT: Keegan Matheson
CREDIT: Keegan Matheson
| POLL | ||
MAI 12 | 72 ANSWERS Blue Jays back to .500 after sweep of Mariners Do you think this sweep of the Mariners will be a turning point for the Blue jays going forward? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 47.2 % |
| No | 9 | 12.5 % |
| Too early to tell | 29 | 40.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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