Springer steps up to lead Blue Jays out of skid

PITTSBURGH -- This whole thing doesn’t work without George Springer.

Even with a roster that can look like it was put together in a video game, the Blue Jays aren’t the Blue Jays without him. There are many players as talented, but none more integral to this team’s identity.

“George is what makes us go,” manager John Schneider said before Friday’s opener in Pittsburgh, and a few hours later, Springer decided it was about that time.

Toronto’s 4-0 win didn’t just break an ugly five-game losing streak, it got King Kong off Springer’s back, as he launched a deep home run to center field in the fifth inning. Springer has been hitting the ball hard for weeks, but his luck has been remarkably poor, shooting rockets to all the wrong places. The .210 average and .559 OPS he entered Friday with were anchors on this Blue Jays lineup, and as much as Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Matt Chapman were covering for their leadoff man, Springer is what turns this lineup into a nightmare for opposing teams.

His timing couldn’t be better after this past week’s skid, which felt like slamming into a brick wall over and over after the Blue Jays had won six in a row the week prior.

This is how baseball works, of course, with incredible highs and worrying lows around every corner, but that doesn’t mean a string of play like the past four games against the Red Sox could be excused. Division games matter more than ever, and in an American League East that is one of the strongest divisions in professional sports, there’s no such thing as “early.”

The difference in 2023, though, is that the Blue Jays have already shown clear, legitimate strides toward playing a better and more versatile brand of baseball. They looked like one of baseball’s best teams for most of April, and with a win like Friday’s, they showed just how quickly they can slip back into that costume.

“I’ve been saying since day one, our A-game beats anyone else’s A-game,” Schneider said.

He’s right. The best version of the Blue Jays might be better than the best version of any MLB club. But winning a championship is about consistency as much as talent, and finding ways to reach your own ceiling more often than the other guys. That consistency comes much more easily when Springer is doing his thing, and if this is the start of his comeback, it’s also the start of Toronto’s next surge.

These challenges can be mental as much as physical, but Springer has been battling an illness for a while now. He won’t use it as an excuse, saying it’s his choice to play and he wants to be in the lineup for his teammates and the fans, though it’s been a factor.

“I have a great group of guys in there who have had my back this whole time,” Springer said. “They’re encouraging me to keep going. It’s a good feeling to know that, even though I’m not necessarily holding up my end of the bargain, I’ve got guys who are on my side and they believe in me. That’s a good feeling.”

Turning around the Blue Jays’ broken-down bus was made easier by Chris Bassitt, the savvy veteran whose timing was just as sharp as Springer’s.

Bassitt bounced back with seven shutout innings against the Pirates, dancing around four hits and four walks. The first three Pirates to walk were all thrown out on the bases, as Pittsburgh’s trademark aggression worked against it for a night.

“We have so much trust in our veteran guys to step up when we need them to step up,” Bassitt said. “They can go two weeks without getting a hit, and I don’t think there’s much thought about it. It’s just like, ‘OK, when is George going to carry us? When is [Brandon] Belt going to carry us? When are all of these guys going to carry us?’ Then you have Vladdy and Bo, who are young and doing what they do, trying to win MVPs. We have an unbelievable group.”

That group starts with Springer, and this goes back to when he signed with Toronto ahead of the 2021 season, signaling a launchpad moment into a new competitive era, as the Blue Jays began stacking star talent on top of their young core.

When it all comes together, you get games like Friday’s. One win doesn’t change much, but if Springer starts to come around, it’s going to be much more than just one win.