Sports
George Springer carted off field in Blue Jays’ 10-9 wild card loss to Mariners
By John Chidley-Hill in Toronto
As veteran outfielder George Springer fell, so did the Toronto Blue Jays.
Springer was carted off the field in the eighth inning of Toronto’s dramatic 10-9 loss to the Mariners on Saturday night as Seattle won the best-of-three American League wild-card series in two games.
Springer was injured when tracking down a potential fly ball from Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford as Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette raced out of the infield to catch the same hit. They clipped each other in shallow centre field and the ball fell to the ground for a double, allowing the Mariners to tie the game 9-9.
“I haven’t even had a chance to look at it on video yet, but I think it was Bo’s elbow to George’s shoulder or head area,” said interim Toronto manager John Schneider. “I’m not quite sure. At that point you’re still trying to navigate through the rest of the game.”
Both Bichette and Springer lay prone on the field in obvious pain after the collision as the sell out crowd of 47,156 at Rogers Centre fell silent. Bichette eventually got up but Springer, visibly shaken, stayed down.
“I was praying to the baseball gods to just let that ball sit and running to first base,” said Crawford on his view of the collision. “If I saw the ball go to the side and I had to haul my butt to second base.”
Teammates checked on Springer as the Blue Jays training staff came out to him. Springer was helped to his feet by medical personnel and sat on a cart to be taken off the field to a rousing ovation from fans.
Jackie Bradley Jr. took over for Springer in centre field but the Mariners completed the largest road comeback in Major League Baseball playoff history.
Schneider said after the game that Springer was OK but would require further evaluation in the coming days as he was also nursing a sore right elbow for most of the season.
“He said some nice things to his teammates just now, so we’ll know more in the next couple of days,” said Schneider after a team meeting in the Blue Jays clubhouse.
Springer did not speak with media after the game.
Mariners manager Scott Servais said that Crawford’s hit was a turning point in the game but wished Springer well after the scary injury.
“We got a big break tonight when that ball fell in front of Springer,” said Servais. “I hope he’s OK. George is a great player. Seen him for years in Houston and competed against him.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2022.
Dallas Stars celebrate after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals Saturday, May 27, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
By Mark Anderson in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) — With Dallas’ season on the line, the Stars got two critical goals from a player who was a healthy scratch the first two games of the Western Conference final.
Ty Dellandrea’s goals came within a 1:27 span midway through the third period, and the Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Saturday to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the Stanley Cup final to face the Florida Panthers.
“He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever played with,” said Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who made 27 saves. “He deserves every opportunity he gets, and there’s no one happier for him than the guys in this room.
“It shows how special you are when you get taken out. He didn’t make it about him. He needed the opportunity to step up, and that’s what he did.”
The Stars escaped elimination for the second straight game and head to Dallas for Game 6 on Monday night down 3-2. Dallas is attempting to become the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after being down 3-0.
And look who’s back for the Stars? Captain Jamie Benn returns after a two-game suspension for his cross-check to the neck of Vegas captain Mark Stone in Game 3. That was the only game in this series that was decided early, and until Saturday the Stars hadn’t even had a multigoal lead.
“I know our group, and we weren’t happy about being in the hole we were in, and they decided to do something about it,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “And now we’re rolling.”
The only problem for DeBoer was waiting two days to play Game 6.
“Drop the puck,” he said.
DeBoer said before the game if his team won, the pressure would shift to the Knights. Now it’s up to them to respond after twice being a period away from playing in the Stanley Cup final and letting both opportunities slip away.
“I don’t think we brought our best the last two games,” Stone said. “We were still in a good spot to win the game. We’ve got to bring a little bit better effort and start playing a little more desperate.”
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said “it’s a very good question” why his team didn’t play with more desperation, but he also wasn’t thrilled with the Knights’ execution.
“We had 24 giveaways,” Cassidy said. “I’m not sure you’re beating the Arizona Coyotes in January with 24 giveaways. That’s no disrespect to Arizona, but it’s not the right way to play.”
Dellandrea found the right way to play and put together the first multigoal playoff game of his career. Jason Robertson and Luke Glendening also scored, and Thomas Harley had two assists.
Chandler Stephenson and Ivan Barbashev scored for the Knights, and Jonathan Marchessault had two assists to extend his points streak to four games. Adin Hill made 30 saves.
Dellandrea scored from the right circle to put Dallas ahead, the puck deflecting off Vegas defenceman Alex Pietrangelo with 9:25 left for a 3-2 lead. Then, Dellandrea scored from the slot with 7:58 remaining.
Dellandrea said the older players kept him motivated when he was temporarily sidelined.
“There’s no denying it’s hard,” he said. “I’m thankful for a good group of character guys, and you’ve just got to stay ready.”
The teams traded goals in the first two periods.
Jack Eichel battled two Stars players for the puck in Vegas’ offensive zone, and then Barbashev swooped in and made a fantastic move to glide past Oettinger and score with 6:24 left in the first period. The Stars wasted little time in answering when Glendening scored on a deflection less than two minutes later.
Dallas was robbed of what looked like a sure goal when Hill snagged a point-blank shot from Roope Hintz, who then threw his back in disbelief.
Like in the first period, the Knights had a goal in the second quickly answered by one from the Stars. Stephenson scored from the left circle at 16:40 of the period, and Robertson knocked his own rebounds 2:09 later to make it 2-2. Stephenson tied the Knights’ record with his eight playoff goal this year, and Robertson had his fifth of the series.
—
TAMPERE, Finland (AP) — Teenage forward Adam Fantilli scored the go-ahead goal as Canada edged Latvia 4-2 and advanced to the final of the ice hockey world championship.
The United States plays Germany in the other semifinal later Saturday.
The 18-year-old Fantilli, who is expected to be one of the top picks in the NHL draft, fooled a defenseman before netting his first goal of the tournament with 11:04 to go as Canada took a 3-2 lead.
Samuel Blais, Jack Quinn and Scott Laughton also scored for Canada whose goaltender Samuel Montembeault made 20 saves.
Canada had to twice come back from a goal down to reach its fourth straight final.
Dans Locmelis scored 8:18 into the game to put tournament co-host Latvia 1-0 ahead on a rebound.
Blais one-timed a shot to the roof of Latvia’s goal with 4:28 to go in the middle period for his fourth goal at the tournament to tie the score at 1-1.
Rudolfs Balcers restored the lead for Latvia from the left circle only 1:06 later in the frame.
Quinn leveled 45 seconds into the final period when his shot was deflected into the net from the mask of goaltender Arturs Silovs.
___
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