Resurgent Springer's clutch HR his latest feat for red-hot Blue Jays

MINNEAPOLIS -- George Springer spent most of the 2024 season in a funk. He’s doing what he can to make up for lost time this year.

Springer hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning on Saturday to lift the Blue Jays to a 5-4 win over the Twins at Target Field.

The Blue Jays trailed 3-2 when Addison Barger led off the eighth with an opposite-field double off Twins relief ace Griffin Jax (1-4). Springer followed with his second homer in as many days and his 10th of the season, a towering blast to left that gave Toronto the lead for its ninth win in its last 10 games.

A fired-up Springer screamed as he rounded the bases and gave out vigorous high fives in the dugout as the Jays won their fourth straight series and second straight game in come-from-behind fashion.

​​”All these games are huge,” Springer said, “and it’s just a big swing for us as a team.”

Springer now has five home runs and nine RBIs in his last nine games and has bumped his OPS up to .854, 180 points higher than last season (.674), which was statistically the worst of his career.

“I think it’s a combination of, A, having a really good player still -- I know he’s getting a little bit older -- but [also], I think being convicted in what he’s trying to do,” manager John Schneider said of Springer’s resurgence. “[Springer and hitting coach David Popkins] have kind of hit it off in terms of trying to get an aggressive swing off. And that’s a huge home run there.

“You look up right now -- what is it, June 7? -- and he’s got 10 of them? Couldn’t be happier for him. He’s put last year behind him and said, ‘OK, this is the player I know I can be.’”

The win puts the Blue Jays a season-best six games over .500 at 35-29, and Saturday’s game had the feel of a team that knows it’s just a matter of time before someone gets a big hit.

“I don’t feel like we think we’re ever out of a game,” Springer said. “I think we understand each other, we trust each other. It’s one at-bat a time, one pitch at a time, don’t try to do too much. I think we’re starting to see guys controlling their at-bats well and getting it to the next guy.”

Springer had the game’s biggest hit, but he also had one of its most overlooked plate appearances in the first inning, when he faced Twins starter Chris Paddack with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on first and two outs. Springer fouled off three two-strike pitches before working a nine-pitch walk. The battle not only drove up Paddack’s pitch count, but it moved Guerrero to second base. That proved vital when Nathan Lukes followed with a base hit to drive in the game’s first run.

“The whole goal is to get to first base. I don’t care how I do it,” Springer said. “I’ve got guys up behind me who can hit, who can control the zone. The at-bat by [Lukes] after me was unbelievable. He gets the job done right there. For me, it’s more one of those things where I have to do whatever I can to get to first base.”

That approach is a big part of the Jays’ recent offensive resurgence, during which they’ve averaged 7.1 runs per game over the past nine games.

“It ebbs and flows, and I think just the way we’re playing right now, you kind of expect [the big hit]. I think the mindset is a little bit freer if that makes sense, and doing it against some tough pitching, which is cool,” Schneider said. “I can't really explain it. It comes and it goes. I hope it stays for a while.”