Leafs paying close attention to Blue Jays’ run

Morgan Rielly says conversations inside the Maple Leafs' locker room Tuesday morning were similar to the ones happening around kitchen tables and water coolers across Canada. 

TORONTO – Morgan Rielly says conversations inside the Maple Leafs’ locker room Tuesday morning were similar to the ones happening around kitchen tables and water coolers across Canada.

Non-stop Blue Jays talk.

Toronto’s baseball team advanced to the World Series in dramatic fashion Monday night with a spine-tingling, hair-raising 4-3 victory in Game 7 over the Seattle Mariners.

And like many fans in the city and across the country, the Leafs were watching.

“Pretty cool,” Rielly said. “Amazing to see the support that they’re getting.”

Jays slugger George Springer — hobbled after getting struck in the knee by a pitch in Game 5 — smoked a three-run home run over the left-field fence in the bottom of the seventh inning to turn a two-run deficit into a one-run lead inside an incandescent Rogers Centre.

“I think I hit the ceiling,” said Leafs winger Max Domi, who tuned in from his couch.

Toronto trailed Seattle 2-0 in the American League Championship Series after losing the first two games at home. The Jays then returned to their turf down 3-2 and then trailed Game 7 with eight outs to go before clinching the franchise’s first World Series trip since winning the second of back-to-back titles in 1993.