Injured in Game 3, Springer in too much pain to return

LOS ANGELES — Blue Jays manager John Schneider tried to play it coy with the status of his leadoff hitter, George Springer, but you could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

And sure enough, Springer was not in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s Game 4 of the World Series with an undisclosed injury to his right side or back.

Springer exited Game 3 on Tuesday after clearly feeling pain from a swing and did not return. In a meeting with select Toronto media three hours prior to first pitch, Schneider described Springer’s status as “hour-to-hour, day-to-day.”

Losing one of their most important players while trying to square the Fall Classic with the Dodgers back up at two wins apiece is a huge blow for the Jays, who didn’t score a run after the seventh inning in Monday’s 18-inning marathon.

“Swin