Playoff baseball took place 2,200 miles and one country away from Daikin Park on Monday night. The late innings in Toronto reminded baseball fans everywhere of the Houston Astros’ championship past.

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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and Houston Astros legend George Springer hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the eighth inning of Toronto’s Game 7 ALCS win over the Seattle Mariners. Toronto secured a 4–3 victory Monday thanks to Springer’s deep shot, sending the Blue Jays to their first World Series since 1993.

Toronto fans burst into a raucous celebration with Springer’s home run, the franchise’s most important dinger since Joe Carter’s championship walk-off homer in 1993. It was also a familiar scene for Houston fans.

Springer hit 19 home runs during his 63 playoff games with the Astros from 2015-20, including a game-winning home run in Game 2 of the 2017 World Series and a game-tying home run in Game 5 of the same series. He also homered in five consecutive World Series games in 2019.

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Springer is now also a hero north of the border. He’s still forever beloved in Houston, a key part of the club’s Golden Era with a flair for the dramatic. Astros fans spent most of October frustrated by a pre-playoff exit. Monday night brought a welcome flashback.

Sprinter’s home run brought Houston fans more than just nostalgia on Monday. He also eliminated the Astros’ bitter rival, the Seattle Mariners, whose fans cheered after Springer was hit by a pitch in Game 5. Seattle is now vanquished, and another Astros rival now awaits the Blue Jays in the World Series–the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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This article originally published at Former Astros legend crushes rivals’ World Series hopes in perfect fashion.