TORONTO – Manager John Schneider believes that George Springer, the elder statesman of the Toronto Blue Jays, is off to a significant start to the season because he’s at peace with himself.

In the Blue Jays’ third win in a row, a 5-3 decision in the series opener against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, the 35-year-old Springer found a way to safely reach base four times. Springer walked twice, knocked out a homer in the fifth inning and reached base on a catcher’s interference call.

This was another example of his comeback after a poor 2024.

“I think last year he got caught up in a lot of different stuff, trying to do too much, and just having one thing leading to another,” Schneider said.

“He carried us for about a month but wasn’t there all year. So finding peace … I think having a clear mindset, understanding that it’s not going to be perfect every single night, and just being invested in every single at bat.”

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Springer credits conversations with Schneider and Blue Jays associate manager DeMarlo Hale.

“It goes back to something Schneids says, Demarlo says,” Springer said. “‘Every day, just do something to help the team win.’

“Obviously, one swing of the bat can help, but being able to walk or get hit by a pitch or score a run. There’s more than one way to help the team. It’s kind of my job to do as many things as I can to help us win.”

Springer has reached base safely three or more times in a single game five times this season.

His .423 on-base percentage ranks fourth in Major League Baseball, and he’s become a homebody this season.

In 14 games played at Rogers Centre this season, Springer has batted .325 with four doubles, two homers, 10 runs scored and seven RBI.

“I just got back to who I am as a player,” Springer said. “I understand, last year was last year and it’s over with.

“We don’t want that to happen again. That’s not who I am as a player, but I learned a lot from it. And, here we are.”

After earning his second walk of the game in the eighth inning, he stole second and advanced to third on Alejandro Kirk’s bloop single to right field.

He wound up scoring the winning run on Nathan Lukes’s two-run single.

“His conversations in between at-bats right now are different than they were last year,” Schneider said. “He’s focusing on the next thing, the next pitch, the next swing. And I think it just gives you a little bit more freedom.”

LUKES DELIVERS

Backup outfielder Nathan Lukes entered the game as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning but struck out.

Two innings later, the 30-year-old delivered a two-out, two-run single to right field to snap a tie. In his last 10 games, Lukes has batted .364 with a double, a homer, scored six times and five RBI.

“He’s a consistent player, and when playing time isn’t concrete, it can be tough,” Schneider said. “But I think he’s suited pretty well for that role. He has a pretty simple swing.

“Confidence is a big thing. He’s shown that he can play at this level. It’s been a weird kind of winding road for him.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2025.

TORONTO – Baseball may rely on data analytics the most of North America’s professional sports, but the Toronto Blue Jays are trying to make a case for the intangibles of the game.

Toronto earned two consecutive come-from-behind victories over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday and Thursday, erasing deficits of seven runs and two runs respectively. The two victories over their American League East rivals helped the Blue Jays move ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for third in the division and stay within range of second-place Boston.

But, for manager John Schneider, it could mean more as Toronto has lost seven of its past 10 games.

“Whether people believe it or not, I think momentum is a real thing in this game, and there’s definitely emotion that goes into it.” Schneider said after the Blue Jays beat the Red Sox 4-2 on Thursday night after topping the visitors 7-6 in 10 innings. “So 2-0 is a lot easier to come back from than 6-0, I think that’s kind of what the guys were thinking.

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“It takes one swing, you know? It takes one swing to get things turned around like it did yesterday, like it did today, and hopefully it kind of balances itself out. But I think momentum is a real thing.”

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s three-run home run in the eighth inning was the one swing that turned things around on Thursday.

Guerrero came to the plate with two on and one out and the Blue Jays trailing 2-1. He saw seven pitches from Boston reliever Justin Slaten, launching an 85.8 m.p.h. curveball into the left-field stands for the Blue Jays’ first lead of the game. His fourth home run of the season scored Nathan Lukes and Bo Bichette.

“I’ve always said, we never give up. We know we never give up,” said Guerrero through traslator Hector Lebron. “Regardless of the score, we could be down 18-3, 18-4 whatever it is, we’re gonna still go out there and compete.”

Asked if there’s a difference between thinking a comeback is possible and making a comeback happen, Guerrero said that it all starts with the right attitude.

“Remember, if you don’t think that way, it won’t happen,” said Guerrero. “So you’ve got to think it first to make it happen.”

A five-game losing streak April 19-23 followed by a three-game skid April 27 and April 29 dropped Toronto down the divisional standings as the Blue Jays’ offence stagnated.

Toronto had gone 11 games without scoring more than four runs in a single outing until Anthony Santander’s three-run homer on Wednesday tied that game 6-6 and Alejandro Kirk’s RBI single in the 10th inning gave the Blue Jays a 7-6 win.

Even after the back-to-back wins, Toronto’s 108 runs are the fifth lowest in Major League Baseball, only better than the Los Angeles Angels (106), Kansas City (105), Texas (103), and Colorado (96).

“We’re going to go through another tough stretch or two over the course of the year and you’ve got to kind of weather the storm,” said Schneider. “You’ve got to keep at it.

“That’s what I’m most proud about what this group is doing right now. They weathered it. It’s two good wins, and you’ve got to move on to Cleveland.”

Chris Bassitt (2-2) will take the mound as the Blue Jays (15-16) continue their six-game homestand on Friday, hosting the Cleveland Guardians (18-13). Logan Allen (1-2) will get the start for Cleveland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025.

With the federal election over, the spotlight is back on the NHL playoffs with thousands of fans gathering Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre to display their Canadian pride and cheer on teams in the “Battle of Ontario.”

Hockey has been part of Canadian identity for decades, but right now, the sport may once again provide a symbol of unity and sovereignty for many Canadians in the shadow of the Trump administration.

Add to that the fact that two Canadian teams — the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs — are facing off in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years, with a do-or-die game Thursday night, and fans who spoke to Global News outside the Canadian Tire Centre said they’re seeing more pride.

“Hockey represents our nationality, it’s everywhere, it’s what we do,” said Maureen Dubé, a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, to Global News.

“I think there’s more pride because of what’s going on in the U.S. I think that we’re prouder and we’re louder and we’re more united together.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump has levied repeated rounds of damaging tariffs on Canada since March, and repeatedly said he wants to make Canada the 51st state — a push roundly rejected by Canadian leaders and voters.

For fans, the sport represents Canadian identity, national unity and source of social cohesion and belonging, according to recent surveys.

Seventy-four per cent of respondents felt hockey holds a deep significance to Canadian national identity, according to a 2022 Environics Survey.

Another 62 per cent of Canadians reported they felt a connection to hockey when playing, watching or just being involved in the sport, according to a 2021 Angus Reid survey.

“Everybody grows up with a team, something they can put their heart behind – get together as a community behind that common cause,” said Phil Bilon, an Ottawa Senators fan who spoke to Global News.

“For Canada hockey has been that thing because so many kids grow up playing it, something that unites us all and it all goes back to when we were kids we all grew up with this familiar game.” Aaron Johson, another Ottawa Senators fan added.

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The game’s aggressive and sometimes violent style is what separated hockey from other European sports in the 1890s, allowing Canadians to create a distinct image making hockey perfect for expressing national identity, according to a 2002 paper published in the Journal of American Folklore that studied Canadian identity through sport.

“It sucks to see an American team win [the Stanley Cup] every year. I feel like this is our sport, something that unites us all,” Bilon said.

The “Elbows Up” movement — which riffs off the term popularized by hockey legend Gordie Howe and has become a rallying cry for national unity and defending Canada against Trump’s threats — is one such phenomenon where sports and politics collide.

The movement has been central to the pushback against American taunts and tariffs, becoming a prominent political slogan during the recent federal election.

While the “Battle of Ontario,” along with the playoff series may only be just a game, hockey’s continued popularity transcends the rink.

“It would be great to see a Canadian team bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada where the game was founded,” Devon Shuker, an Ottawa Senators fan said.

“This is our game and this is where it’s going to stay.”