Bum Knee And All, George Springer Blasts An Insanely Clutch Three Run Bomb To Send The Blue Jays To Their First World Series Since 1993

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For six and a half innings on Monday night, the Seattle Mariners found themselves in the driver's seat during Game 7 of the ALCS. 9 outs separated them from the franchise's first ever trip to the World Series. And then Bryan Woo came back out for his third inning of work. From there things unraveled to the point of elimination. Woo allowed two guys to reach before the 9 hitter Gimenez bunted them over to put the tying runs in scoring position. In came high leverage reliever Eduard Bazardo to face George Springer. After getting hit by a pitch directly in his knee during Game 5, Springer didn't look competitive in Game 6. You still obviously weren't taking him out of the lineup, but what could he offer you in Game 7? Well, painkillers are awesome, huh? 

Toronto, you have your new version of the Bautista homer…

Outrageous to have this many go ahead homers in his postseason career. I can't stand this cheater of a man, but that stat is ridiculous.

Six outs later, the Jays had booked their trip to the World Series against the Dodgers. Jeff Hoffman struck out the side to end things and prevent Cal Raleigh from grabbing one last at bat. 

Heartbreak city for Seattle. So fucking close to your first ever World Series appearance. What happens if Wilson goes to his high leverage guys to start the 7th. Does a clean slate for Bazardo result in something different, or was Toronto's offense simply inevitable? Should he have just gone to his closer in Munoz to take care of the top of the order and ride him for as long as he could? Those are questions that will haunt Dan Wilson maybe for the rest of his life. 

Now we get a Blue Jays-Dodgers World Series. Currently LA is a -215 favorite to win. Feels like a foregone conclusion for them to hoist the trophy for the second year in a row, but if there was one team in the ALCS I felt could pull it off it was Toronto because of how explosive that lineup can be. I don't think they have the pitching to matchup, but that's why they play the damn thing. Great ALCS, let's roll that momentum into the big finale. 

P.S. Leafs curse erased?