George Springer returns to Blue Jays’ lineup for Game 6 of ALCS

TORONTO — George Springer is back in the Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup.

Springer will bat leadoff as Toronto hosts the Seattle Mariners in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night. Seattle leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Springer was in good spirits on Saturday after his X-rays and CT scan came back negative.

“It was going to take a whole lot more, I think, to keep him out of the lineup,” said Schneider in a pre-game news conference. “I was checking in with him via text this morning. He basically told me to shut up. Did the same thing when he got in today.”

Springer went down after a 95.6 m.p.h. two-seam fastball from Seattle reliever Bryan Woo clipped his right knee in the seventh inning of Game 5 on Friday.

“He’ll be ready to go,” said Schneider. “He’s a little bit sore, he’s got some good seam marks on his knee from the sinker there, but I trust when George says he’s good.

“He’s played through a lot in his career, so he’s good to go.”

Daulton Varsho, who as Toronto’s go-to centre-fielder is often beside Springer in the outfield, was encouraged to see the veteran back as designated hitter.

“It’s pretty incredible to take 97 off your kneecap and have it come off 55 miles per hour,” laughed Varsho. “But we’re all glad that he’s in the lineup, feeling good. Glad it’s not broke.

“Just one of those things where it looked really bad, and so glad he’s OK.”

The Blue Jays held a 2-1 lead in Game 5 at the time of Springer’s injury but the Mariners rallied to a 6-2 victory to pull ahead in the ALCS.

The 36-year-old Springer has had a resurgent season, hitting .309 with 32 home runs, 84 runs batted in, 18 stolen bases and a .399 on-base percentage. He’s hit .256 with three home runs and six RBIs this post-season.

Pitcher Jose Berrios was seen throwing in left field before batting practice began at Rogers Centre. Schneider said he had “nothing concrete” in terms of an update on the right-hander.

“He was not throwing there for awhile, a couple weeks,” said Schneider. “I think he’s just back to playing catch. We’ll kind of revisit everything when the off-season hits and kind of see what that looks like for him.”

Berrios has been on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation since Sept. 25. He has a 9-5 record with a 4.17 earned-run average over 30 starts this season. He’s struck out 138 hitters this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2025.