"Drama queen"; "Just bang some trash cans" - Fans divided as Carlos Vargas nearly drills George Springer with wild pitch in heated ALCS Game 6

The Toronto Blue Jays' American League Championship Series is living up to the billing as the AL East winners forced a decisive Game 7 after beating the Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Sunday.

Veteran Blue Jays slugger George Springer, who has been in the news after he was struck by Bryan Woo's pitch in Game 5, was almost struck in the head by Mariners closer Carlos Vargas.

Vargas' wayward 99 mph fastball almost cleaned up Springer, who was down on his knees after taking evasive actions.

However, fans were divided on the sequence of play.

"Just bang some trash cans."

"Springer is such a drama queen."

"Canada fans always this sensitive?"

"Damn, that pitch was wild. Tough one for Springer."

"Springer is beat up…. Hope his knee gets better."

Springer was hit on the knee in the previous game and suffered a knee contusion. Although the tests came back negative, the veteran designated hitter struggled with his injured knee on Sunday and was seen getting attended by trainers in the dugout.

The former World Series winner went 0-for-4 on the night, inducing a walk as the Blue Jays won 6-2.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider praised George Springer's resolve to play despite knee injury after hit by pitch

While there was uncertainty around George Springer's availability for Game 6 after his knee injury, the veteran slugger told Blue Jays manager John Schneider that he was fine to continue.

"He was in good spirits yesterday, I think just getting some reassurance with the CT scan coming back [negative],” Schneider said ahead of Game 6. “It was going to take a whole lot more, I think, to keep him out of the lineup. So he was feeling better yesterday, feeling better today.”

Although Springer is reluctant to throw in the towel, his struggles at the plate on Sunday due to his injury might force Schneider's hand for the series-decider on Monday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash