Blue Jays activate George Springer in huge boost after concussion IL stint
The East-leading Blue Jays activated outfielder George Springer on Saturday after he missed the previous 16 games on the concussion list after getting drilled in the head by a pitch.
The four-time All-Star was batting .291 with 18 home runs and an .887 OPS when he was hit in the head by a 96 mph fastball from Orioles pitcher Kade Strowd on July 28.
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer (4) hits a single in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
The 35-year-old Springer was back atop the Toronto lineup as the designated hitter Saturday against the Rangers after playing two minor-league rehab games with Triple-A Buffalo.
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer (4) gets hit by a pitch during the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The first-place Blue Jays began the day third in the American League with 597 runs scored while leading the AL with a .268 team batting average and .337 team on-base percentage.
They led the Red Sox by five games and the Yankees by 6 1/2 in the divisional race.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Red Sox takeaways: Bullpen concerns, Wilyer Abreu's injury, more
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox's bullpen has been among the best in baseball this season, yet this weekend proved forgettable for the relief corps and highlighted a potential weakness for the team as it fights for a postseason spot. On Saturday, in a 7-2 game, Isaiah Campbell entered in the ninth and gave up three runs, necessitating closer Aroldis Chapman to enter and close out the win. Advertisement Chapman, who'd also made 11 pitches on Friday, wasn't available on Sunday, and his teammates couldn't pick him up. Greg Weissert gave up a game-tying homer in the ninth and Steven Matz subsequently surrendered a two-run shot, turning a 3-2 Red Sox lead and chance at a series sweep of the Miami Marlins into a 5-3 loss. 'It sucks to be the person that is responsible for it,' Weissert said. 'Garrett (Crochet) goes out there every game and it's always a chance to win, and to not be able to pick up Chappy being down, it sucks.' Boston's bullpen entered Sunday with a 3.38 ERA, best in the American League and third in the majors. But beyond Chapman, Garrett Whitlock (who allowed a run in the eighth on Sunday) and Justin Wilson, there are some concerns in the bullpen. Weissert has been solid overall and entered Sunday having given up just one run since July 2. But with a heavy workload early in the year, Weissert's innings have been managed a bit by manager Alex Cora over the last two months to help him maintain his effectiveness. Weissert leads the team with 56 appearances. Matz, meanwhile, had not given up a run since arriving via trade two weeks ago, but is more of a multi-inning reliever than a high-leverage setup man, a role he was forced into on Sunday. Jordan Hicks should have given the Red Sox depth in that department, but he is still searching for consistency. The Red Sox may see some relief help arriving soon in the form of Justin Slaten, who is ramping up after being out since June 1 with a shoulder/neck injury. He threw his third bullpen on Friday and is scheduled for a live batting practice session on Monday. If all goes well, his next step would be another live BP or a rehab assignment. The Red Sox have been surging of late, but tough losses like Sunday's highlight the need to keep up their winning pace. Had Boston (68-57) held on for a win, it would have pulled within four games of the Blue Jays (73-52) for first in the American League East and fortified its wild-card position. The loss also wasted another solid start from Crochet, who allowed one run on three hits and a walk, striking out eight in seven innings. Advertisement 'It's difficult to lose a game like that and even more with where we are in the standings right now,' Wilyer Abreu said. Abreu gave the Red Sox the lead with a two-run homer in the fourth inning on Sunday and scored on a sacrifice fly from Abraham Toro in the seventh. But in the next half inning, he exited the game with right calf tightness. The right fielder, who leads the team with 22 homers, said it cramped up as he was tagging up from third to score. 'It's a little bit tight,' he said. 'Right now, I'm day-to-day to see how I wake up tomorrow. Hopefully be ready, take probably two or three days and be ready for New York.' Abreu didn't think an IL stint would be necessary, but losing him for more than a few days would be an obvious blow to the offense. In his last 16 games, he's hitting .300 with an .860 OPS. Prior to the trade deadline, we reported that the Red Sox planned to give outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia playing time at first base in Triple-A Worcester. Garcia has done pre-game work at first over the last two weeks for the WooSox, but played in his first game at the position on Sunday, making a nice pick on one play. Nice pick from Jhostynxon Garcia for an inning ending double play. — Ian Cundall (@IanCundall) August 17, 2025 Garcia is hitting .308 with a .945 OPS in Worcester, but there's little room for him in the big league outfield at the moment. Expanding his defensive versatility might give him a better path to the majors. Meanwhile, Kristian Campbell has continued to excel in Worcester, hitting .323 with a .943 OPS in 26 games since the All-Star break. But when asked this weekend about Campbell's progress, Cora was evasive. 'I've been watching the at-bats,' Cora said. 'He's producing, but there's still work to do.' Advertisement Cora admitted the reality of Campbell's situation: He needs to get better at facing big-league pitching, but he's not seeing big-league pitching in Triple A. 'The same things that he struggled here (in the majors) with — pitch recognition, covering certain shapes of fastballs,' Cora said when asked about what Campbell needs to improve on. 'That's something that is hard, because he's not going to get that down there. The velo here is harder. It's faster. Locations are on point here. With all due respect to players down there, the gap is a big gap. So it's just one of those that, we've got to keep working, and he has to keep working and see what the future holds.' In 67 games with Boston, Campbell hit .223 with a .664 OPS. Like Garcia, Campbell has gotten reps at first base in Worcester, but has mostly played second. He played center field for Worcester on Sunday, the first time he'd done so at Triple A after playing seven games in center earlier this season while in Boston. Now that Marcelo Mayer is officially out for the year with wrist surgery, perhaps the Red Sox will find time for Campbell on the roster at second base, but that remains to be seen. Kutter Crawford spoke with reporters on Friday for the first time since season-ending wrist surgery on July 2. Crawford posted a 4.36 ERA over 33 starts last season, but hasn't played at all in 2025, beginning the year on the IL with a knee injury that he suffered last season and reaggravated just before spring training. As he was working his way back from the knee injury, Crawford described injuring his wrist while doing some routine maintenance around his house. 'It's been tough,' he said. 'I was really close to starting a rehab assignment before I had this incident with the wrist the day before my last live BP. Advertisement 'I was outside, kind of moving some stuff and when I went to move something, it got hung up and it turned my wrist the other way, and I kind of felt a subtle pop,' he said. Crawford took time off from throwing and tried to return to the mound, but still experienced pain. He'd torn the subsheath that holds the tendon in place in his wrist. Over the past six weeks, Crawford has been in the early stages of rehab and noted that with the rest, his knee feels as good as it's felt in 'three or four years.' He's hopeful that issue is behind him and he can focus on his wrist recovery. The plan is to begin throwing in October so that he can be ready by the start of spring training. 'I take pride in being healthy and available and just grabbing the ball every fifth day and competing to the best of my ability,' he said. 'It's been frustrating not being able to go out there and compete and go to battle with my teammates.' (Photo of Wilyer Abreu scoring in the seventh inning, after which he left the game: Bob DeChiara / Imagn Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Security tackles baseball fan after he ran onto field, interrupting Astros-Orioles game
A baseball fan interrupted a game between the Houston Astros and the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon at Daikin Park. A video obtained by Fox News Digital showed the fan reached the pitcher's mound and ran around the infield before security guards finally reached him and tackled him to the ground. The fan was taken out of the stadium in handcuffs. It was the most excitement Astros fans saw throughout the day as Houston fell to Baltimore 12-0. Orioles pitchers Dean Kremer, Grant Wolfram and Corbin Martin held Astros batters to six hits. Kremer had seven strikeouts in seven innings. He allowed only three hits and walked one. Wolfram and Martin came into the game to put the game away. Kremer threw 114 pitches. Astros catcher Yainer Diaz was 2-for-4 but struck out twice. He was the only Astros player who had a multi-hit game. The Orioles jumped on Cristian Javier early and Shawn Dubin when he came into the game. Four runs in the fifth and five runs in the eighth were more than enough for the Orioles to win the game. Baltimore third baseman Jordan Westburg was 4-for-4 in the game with five RBI. He hit a three-run home run off Dubin in the fifth inning. Gunner Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Sam Basallo each had two RBI. The Orioles improved to 57-67 with the win and Houston fell to 69-55.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Semien homers in return, Eovaldi wins 7th straight decision as Rangers beat Blue Jays 10-4
TORONTO (AP) — Marcus Semien homered and scored twice in his return to the lineup and Nathan Eovaldi worked seven innings and won his seventh straight decision as Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-4 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter each hit two-run homers, and Corey Seager added a solo shot as Texas snapped a four-game skid. Rangers first baseman Jake Burger exited after six innings because of a sore left wrist. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk hit solo home runs, but that was all the offense the Blue Jays managed against Eovaldi (11-3). The right-hander allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Eovaldi is unbeaten since a May 22 road loss to the Yankees. Shawn Armstrong got four outs for his fourth save in seven chances. Back at second base after sitting out Saturday's loss because of a sore right wrist, Semien hit a two-run homer off right-hander José Berríos in the second. The homer was Semien's 15th. Seager chased Berríos with a one-out homer in the fifth, his 18th. Langford homered off Braydon Fisher in the sixth, his 17th. Carter connected off Louis Varland in the ninth, his fifth. Berríos (9-5) allowed a season-high 10 hits and matched a season-high by giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings. Guerrero's sixth-inning homer was his 21st. Kirk hit his ninth in the second. George Springer hit a two-run homer off Hoby Milner in the eighth, his 19th. Key moment The Rangers scored three runs on five straight hits with two outs in the fourth. The first four hits came on two-strike counts. Key stat Eovaldi is 6-2 with a 1.62 ERA in 11 starts following a Rangers loss. Up next Rangers RHP Jack Leiter (7-6, 3.94 ERA) is expected to start at Kansas City on Monday against RHP Michael Wacha (7-9, 3.35). Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (8-9, 3.79) is scheduled to start at Pittsburgh on Monday against RHP Paul Skenes (7-9, 2.13). __ AP MLB:
