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Several Jays play a role in surge up standings
TORONTO – Contributions from all four corners of the Toronto Blue Jays roster have played a massive role in their two-month ascension to the top spot in the American League East.
There were many examples of different players leading the way in the Blue Jays’ first four-game home sweep of the division-rival New York Yankees in team history.
Deadlocked in the fourth inning of the series finale on Thursday, a dogged Nathan Lukes endured a 14-pitch at-bat to poke a two-run double down the left-field line that sparked the home side to an 8-5 win before 36,848 at Rogers Centre.
With Bo Bichette nursing a sore knee, Lukes was the third different player Toronto manager John Schneider employed in the leadoff role in the series after Ernie Clement and Andres Gimenez took turns.
“That’s an at-bat where you can look back three, four days from now, a month from now, and say, ‘that wasn’t just an at-bat that helped us win this game,’” said George Springer, who continued his hot hitting with a pair of two-run homers to bring his season total to a team-leading 15.
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“For him to keep going, to keep grinding, fighting off pitch after pitch after pitch, and not have a timeout after the fifth pitch was unbelievable.
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“That’s an at-bat where he completely flipped the script.”
The Blue Jays flipped their script back in early May. They have gone 32-18 since May 8 with only the Houston Astros enjoying a better record at 34-17.
Chris Bassitt (8-4), who tossed a gusty 113-pitch outing in the series finale, believes the team’s culture has been the difference.
“Yeah, I would say the culture that we’ve been able to build here,” Bassitt said. “It’s taken a while.
“We’re getting rewarded for playing the game the right way and playing the game hard, not much more than that. I think it’s an old-school approach of how to play the game. Obviously, we have a lot of talented guys in the room, so you have a lot of talented guys playing the way that we’re playing.”
Addison Barger also has chipped in since being promoted from triple-A Buffalo. He homered for the second straight game, increasing his total to 11, and finished the series finale 3 for 4 with two RBI to help the Blue Jays extend their win streak to a season-high tying five games.
“What he’s done for us this series was great,” Schneider said. “Since he’s been up here, he’s been damn good and has added a dynamic to our lineup that we desperately needed. You need stories like that.”
Schneider’s team also wouldn’t be in first place without the leadership and the comeback season from Springer. The 35-year-old was coming off a poor 2024 and endured a horrible spring training, too.
In his last 11 games, Springer has batted 20 for 39 (.513) with four homers, 19 RBI, 14 runs scored, six walks and three stolen bases.
“I’m never going to count George Springer out of anything until he hangs up his cleats,” Schneider said. “Whenever that is don’t know. I hope it’s not for a couple of years. I love that he’s here. He’s proven time and time again that he’s one of the best players in the league.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Blue Jays slugger George Springer has been cleared to return to game action after suffering a concussion over two weeks ago, Toronto manager John Schneider said Wednesday.
The 35-year-old outfielder/designated hitter hasn’t played since July 28 when he was hit in the helmet by a fastball thrown by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kade Strowd.
Springer, who was on hand for batting practice before Toronto’s game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, was expected to play for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday.
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“Play DH tomorrow and then see if he needs a game in the outfield to see how he feels,” Schneider said in his pre-game availability. “But he’ll be doing that tomorrow.”
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Springer has been one of the top offensive performers this season for the Blue Jays (70-50), who had a 4 1/2-game lead on the Boston Red Sox in the American League East standings entering play Wednesday.
Over 101 games, Springer has a .291 average, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an on-base and slugging percentage of .889.
Strowd’s 96-m.p.h. pitch appeared to hit Springer’s shoulder before making contact with his helmet near the ear flap. After laying prone for a moment or two, Springer got up slowly and left the field with some assistance.
He was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list on July 29.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Two delightfully shaggy new faces will be on display at the Toronto Zoo starting on Friday.
The nine-month-old brothers are Scottish Highland cattle, with long, woolly, reddish coats and fringe over their eyes.
The zoo’s manager of wildlife care, Marc Brandson, says the two were born and raised at a local Ontario farm before moving to the zoo about a month ago.
He says they completed a quarantine period and now live just outside the Eurasia Wilds area of the zoo.
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Membership holders can visit the brothers at a pre-screening on Thursday, while other visitors can see them starting Friday.
Brandson says there is “a lot of excitement” around the pair because of how popular the Highland breed already is.
He says the zoo is hoping to have the brothers walk through the public area of the zoo as part of its animal ambassador program, which can give visitors a closer look at certain animals.
“Each and every day, our outreach and discovery staff are working to get them to that level,” he said.
“Having a bonded pair is a really great social situation for Highland cows. These brothers are very calm and they are gaining confidence each and every day that they interact with their caregivers.”
The brothers don’t have names yet, and Brandson says the public should stay tuned on ways to contribute naming ideas.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the federal government needs to do more to fight Canada’s devastating forest fires.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of “inaction” on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk.
Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals’ movements is “not right.”
“Whenever there’s a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,” Rempel Garner told reporters.
“We’re calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.”
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Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year’s election.
Rempel Garner said that’s one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control.
In its 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised to train 1,000 community-based firefighters to fight wildfires and to work with provinces and territories to get them more firefighting planes.
Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that Alberta-based water bomber manufacturer De Havilland was facing a four-year backlog of orders.
“Four full wildfire seasons ago, the Liberals promised more water bombers, more firefighters,” Rempel Garner said. “Where are they?”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston brushed off the criticisms of the forest entry ban at a press conference later Wednesday.
“I find it remarkable, the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren’t in Nova Scotia and probably haven’t been here much in their life,” Houston told reporters.
“We’re only concerned with keeping people safe. We’ll do what’s necessary to protect lives, and that’s what we’re doing in this case.”
So far this season, the total area of the country burned by wildfires is nearly the size of the entire province of New Brunswick.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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