After missing 43 Regular Season games, George Springer returns to the Toronto Blue Jays starting lineup. In Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins in Marlins Park, Springer hit fifth in the batting order and started for the squad in center field. Many Jay’s fans and the team’s players themselves are excited to have Springer back on the field. Hopefully, he will help the team win more games as the season approaches the All-Star break. The question is, how George Springer did in his first game back, and how can he help in the future?
George Springer’s First Game Back
As predicted by some, Springer hit fifth in the batting order in his return to the Blue Jays lineup. Some may be wondering why, considering he was exclusively a lead-off hitter for his former team, the Houston Astros. This move made the most sense. When adding players to an already successful batting order, one must be careful. It is hard not making too much of a disruption in terms of where each player bats. Moving one of the top four would be the last thing that Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo would want to do, especially since all four have been so successful in their respective spots. Springer has also made it very clear in his interviews that he is willing to do whatever Montoyo needs him to do in order to win games, which is a trait that is hard to come by from players who earn as much as he does.
In-Game Results
Despite going 0 for 4 in his return to the Jays lineup, Springer showed superb aggressiveness at the plate, swinging very hard through some pitches in the zone and hitting a very sharp lineout to Marlins’ Left Fielder Jesus Sanchez. Also, in his first at-bat back, Springer hit a ground ball to the left side of the infield. It was fielded by third baseman Jon Berti and was very close to beating out the throw.
This makes it seem as though he’s able to run at 100%, if not very close to that. One important stat to make note of is that Springer did not strike out all game, this against a very tough Sandy Alcantra. Meaning that he is seeing good pitches to hit well, but his swing has not quite clicked, since he’s been out for a while. Jays fans could be seeing the Springer they were promised much quicker than expected.
Springer and Toronto Moving Forward
Springer’s upbeat attitude added some character to an already fun Jays dugout, and his scary presence behind Teoscar Hernadez made it tough for Sandy Alcantara to find a break in the Jays Lineup. After the game, Toronto’s third baseman Cavan Biggio was interviewed by Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, in which she asked what kind of boost does Springer add to the team.
Biggio responded, “it’s his presence. That kind of caliber guy who’s done it for a while, in the playoffs. (He is) a pretty household name right there. (He’s) just another guy they have to worry about, another guy they have to worry about not taking them deep.” Finally, after missing so much time, George Springer returns to Toronto to add some major depth.
“Main Photo”
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Cavan Biggio, Sandy Alcantara, Jesus Sanchez, Jon Berti, Charlie Montoyo, George Springer
