Toronto Blue Jays star George Springer exited Monday night’s World Series Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers after suffering an apparent side injury. Springer, who was replaced by veteran infielder Ty France, was also forced out of a game during the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners when he was hit on the right knee by an errant pitch from right-hander Bryan Woo.
Springer, 36, called for the training staff after taking a first-pitch swing to open the top of the seventh. He grabbed at his right side, and while there’s not word yet on what injury he suffered, that tends to be the universal sign of an oblique or intercoastal strain.
Here’s a look at the play in question:
Springer entered Game 3 hitting .259/.339/.593 with four home runs and nine runs batted in over the course of his first 13 postseason games this month.
Springer had been one of the main talking points entering Game 3, with reporters asking manager John Schneider (among others) about how Dodger Stadium’s crowd was likely to receive him. Keep in mind, the Dodgers felt wronged by Springer for his employment by the Houston Astros during their sign-stealing scandal.
“I know he’s prepared for it. He’s been dealing with that for a long time,” ,” Schneider said Monday. “It kind of is what it is. I think me, the manager in me, I probably get more mad than he does because you always have this like protective mode of your players.
“But I don’t think it can galvanize a team, I don’t think that it will directly affect what anyone is doing, and I don’t think it’s going to affect anything George is doing. George is arguably one of the best World Series performers in the history of the game. So I think that fans, they show their opinion or emotion, that’s fine. George has an unbelievable ability to keep himself focused and present on what he’s doing.”