TORONTO – Comeback wins were a big reason why the Toronto Blue Jays reached the American League Championship Series.

George Springer topped them all with a come-from-behind moment that will go down as one of the biggest homers in franchise history.

Springer hit a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh inning and closer Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth to lift the Blue Jays to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.

The victory gave Toronto its first AL pennant since 1993 and a berth in the World Series starting Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I knew I had got the guy in from third, which was all I was trying to do,” Springer said in a champagne-soaked locker-room. “And then it went out of the park. I’ll take it.”

With Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Addison Barger in scoring position, Springer’s 384-foot shot came off reliever Eduard Bazardo.

A run-scoring sacrifice fly was a gimme, but the ball kept carrying and just cleared the wall before landing in the first row of seats. It was Springer’s fourth homer of the post-season and 23rd of his playoff career.

“He’s one of the best to do it in the post-season,” Hoffman said. “I’m really happy that he’s on our side.”

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Toronto led the major leagues with 49 comeback wins in the regular season. The Blue Jays needed every one of them, as the head-to-head tiebreaker gave Toronto the East Division crown over New York when both teams finished with 94 victories.

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That gave the Blue Jays a bye past the wild-card round. Toronto then eliminated the Yankees in the ALDS to reach the championship series for the first time since 2016.

After dropping the first two games at home to Seattle, the Blue Jays reeled off four wins in five games to eliminate the Mariners and book their World Series ticket.

“We’re all in it together and it’s what it’s all about,” said Blue Jays pitcher Eric Lauer, as teammates poured beer over his head. “Ahhh, it’s so nice.”

The party was on in the locker-room as players whooped it up for the fourth time this year. A clinched playoff spot, an East title, and an ALDS win preceded the latest celebration.

“We’re all out of beer,” Toronto pitcher Max Scherzer said, before moving on to another cooler. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

There were plenty of suds and champagne bottles nearby as players, coaches and support staff let loose, knowing they were just four wins away from a World Series crown.

Blue Jays right-hander Shane Bieber and Mariners right-hander George Kirby started the Game 7 matchup but neither hurler made it to the fifth.

Both teams scored a run in the opening frame. Julio Rodriguez hit a solo shot in the third and Cal Raleigh made it 3-1 with a solo homer in the fifth.

The Blue Jays were hitting occasional singles but couldn’t get an extra-base hit.

The sellout crowd of 44,770 came to life in the seventh when Barger drew a leadoff walk and Kiner-Falefa singled. Andres Gimenez advanced them with a sacrifice bunt and waved his arms to get the fans even louder as he trotted back to the dugout.

That set the stage for Springer, who appeared limited at the plate the last two games after taking a pitch off the knee in Game 5.

He turned on a 1-0 sinker for a blast that’ll go down as an all-timer on a franchise list that includes Joe Carter’s World Series walkoff in 1993, Jose Bautista’s bat flip in 2015, Roberto Alomar’s shot in Oakland in 1992 and Edwin Encarnacion’s wild-card walkoff in 2016.

A wide-eyed Springer watched it for a few seconds, unsure of whether it had the distance. The rest of his run around the bases was a blur.

“I blacked out,” he said with a chuckle.

Next up for Canada’s lone big-league team is a showdown with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers.

“We know they’re a great team and I know we’re a great team — built differently,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “But man, I can’t wait to go toe to toe with them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2025.

&copy 2025 The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – A year after having the rookie of the year in the lineup, the Montreal Canadiens might even have a better group this season.

Led by Oliver Kapanen, who scored the opening goal — his rookie-leading fourth of the season — in Monday’s 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, and Ivan Demidov who is tied for the league lead for rookie points, the Canadiens have more points from rookies (nine) than any other team in the NHL this season.

A third rookie, goaltender Jakub Dobes, made 29 saves to move to 3-0. Dobes, who is in his first full season in the NHL, now has a .939 save percentage and 1.63 goals against average.

Kapanen, Demidov, and Dobes all received some playoff experience last season and have taken their opportunity to step up for the Canadiens through the team’s first seven games. While Demidov was expected to produce offensively, Kapanen has been a pleasant surprise.

“His intelligence always puts him in the right place on both sides of the ice,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis. “He understands that he plays with Demidov who will do this thing but he’s always in the right place. His offensive touch will continue to improve as he gets used to the speed of the game.”

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One of the Achilles heels of the Canadiens last season was that they often relied on the line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky to score. Having the line of Demidov, Kapanen, and Alex Newhook contributing could change the way people may have to play against them.

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“It helps us a lot,” said Canadiens defender Lane Hutson, no stranger to strong rookie seasons as last year’s Calder Trophy winner. “The depth throughout the lineup, we have a lot of guys who step up and it’s different every night. So to have that luxury of guys who can score and create opportunities it’s pretty special.”

Dobes was named the game’s third star, and said it was the first time he earned the honour at the Bell Centre, and now has 10 wins in 18 career regular-season starts. He also had the crowd of 20,962 chant his name a couple of times in the third period.

“It feels good, I love the fans. I’m glad they showed me some love,” Dobes said. “You try to stay as humble as possible, hopefully it will happen more and I will get used to it.”

“He was great,” said Canadiens forward Jake Evans. “He looks huge out there and made some huge saves. We left him out to dry in the second period and he kept us in it and I’m happy we got the win for him.”

JAYS FEVER HITS MONTREAL

After winning their own game, the Canadiens players quickly turned their attention to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners.

Evans rushed his post-game interview before going to the back to watch the game, finishing his availability with “Go Jays.”

Josh Anderson delayed his interview until after George Springer’s game-winning home run. The homer was met with an eruption of cheers that disrupted the interviews in progress.

“I think we got a lot of guys on the bandwagon right now,” said Anderson, a Toronto-area native.

Hutson, one of the Americans on the team, is among the converts.

“I’m not really into baseball but (Brendan Gallagher) made me a Blue Jays fan,” said Hutson. “He said I have no choice. It’s cool what they’re doing right now and maybe I’ll tune in a bit.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2025.

&copy 2025 The Canadian Press