ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Uh, nope.

Fold that enveloping Maple Leaf around George Springer instead, the Blue Jays’ Canadian for a day.

Halfway through their four-game series with the Bronx Bombers, the Jays find themselves halfway up the stairway to the penthouse suite in the American League East. They are just one game behind the Yankees (and the Tampa Bay Rays) following Tuesday’s festive engagement at the Rogers Centre, a 12-5 bushwhacking of a rival that looks entirely beatable and entirely catch-up-able.

The Jays were eight games back on May 28, with a 26-28 record, and have gone 21-10 since then. They are poised to spring past the Yankees this week if the stars align. Except — reality check — these are still the Yankees, no?

With Max Fried starting for New York, it was understandable that Boone had approached the July 1 encounter with solid confidence. The left-hander took the mound boasting a 10-2 record, a 1.92 ERA and, even more deflating for the home side, a career ERA versus ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of 0.72.

Once through the lineup, Fried was stellar, as the Jays fell behind early, down 2-0 in the first inning on a shaky start by Kevin Gausman, who couldn’t splitter his way out of a two-walk, bases-loaded jam. But fate, the hallowed stats, the odds and ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s hitters would soon catch up with Fried before settling in to feast on New York’s bullpen.

On an afternoon of revelry — from the ginormous Canada flag stretched across the field, held taut by members of the Canadian Armed Forces joined for the first time by the entire Blue Jays team, to the perfectly timed fighter jet flyover and a bellowed loud rendition of the national anthem from a sellout crowd that turned hopeful faces to a roster comprised of 23 Americans, two Venezuelans, one Puerto Rican, one Cuban, one Panamanian, one Mexican and one Canadian-Dominican.

Down two to Fried felt like an abyss that couldn’t be spanned. “Obviously I was living pretty dangerous there just to get out of it,’’ said Gausman afterward, though notably he held the Yankees at two runs through five. innings “Giving up two in the first against a guy like Max, you’re kinda biting yourself.’’ Of no consequence, turned out.

The oohing and aahing fireworks — homers in the sky with diamonds — mostly came off the bat of Springer on a memorable day: solo homer to lead off a four-run fourth, a grand slam in a five-run seventh – his 100th round-tripper as a Jay — and a career-high seven RBIs.

Whilst playing right field, it should be emphasized. Because Springer still can’t emotionally resign himself to the designated hitter assignment. In fact, he’s invented a new roster position, although it appears only in the clubhouse-version lineup: OP.

“I call it offensive player. Because I joke with (manager John Schneider) that offence isn’t just hitting. It’s about going first to second, first to third, getting into scoring position for guys, doing anything that you can on the bases as well. Especially if I’m not out in the field, I got to make sure I can run.’’

Springer isn’t the shiny leadoff thing anymore and he has started 34 games at DH. But he assumed much of the hitting burden when his teammates were flailing at the plate early on. And if he might still not love the DH role — few welcome the shift to a one-dimensional assignment, which usually arrives with the aroma of geriatrics — it can be argued that getting him off his feet more has been a boon for Springer, triggering a renaissance. Easier on the body, for sure.

“It may be,’’ he conceded. “Being that it allows me to take a lot of stress off my body, allows me to do things that I haven’t been able to do when you’re in the field. I know what Schneid wants from me. I understand what I need to do to help this team. I just believe whether I’m in the field or OP that day, I need to execute my game.�

A couple months shy of 36, Springer has gained insight into George the Ballplayer.

“The biggest thing for me is I’ve learned how to handle the failure, the ups and the downs. It’s not always about getting a hit. It’s the process, right?’’

That dreaded word, trotted out by athletes, especially when they’re in a slump. Trust the process. But who are we to argue?

After his on-field interview with Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, Springer saluted the crowd before disappearing from view. He greatly appreciated them, as they did him, especially on this day. Hanging on the flag, pre-game, “that was cool.’’

“This is obviously a very special day. And to win is obviously big for us. Today, the jets were cool, the anthem, the whole environment was awesome.’’

He wouldn’t say it of course. But Springer was awesome, too.

Editor’s note — July 2, 2025

This article has been updated. The Jays played the Yankees Tuesday, July 1.