Pillar flies high again for Play of the Week
For years, Kevin Pillar made unbelievable plays north of the border for the Blue Jays, but the new Giants outfielder's first truly eye-popping play for his new squad proved to be award-worthy.
Major League Baseball honored Pillar with its Play of the Week Award presented by W.B. Mason on Monday for the gravity-defying catch he made against the Reds on Saturday.
Top prospect Nick Senzel, who was searching for his first Major League home run, hit a drive to deep center field, sending Pillar back to the wall. Pillar then scaled scaled the fence while simultaneously adjusting his body to make the play, robbing Senzel of extra bases.
“I think in moments like that, you’ve got to rely on your instincts,” Pillar told reporters after his catch. “You have to rely on what you hear, what you see. Things happen quickly out there. I knew my best chance of catching the ball, if it was over the wall, was to get up on that thing and try to get as much reach over the wall as I can.”
“It was a pretty cool catch, wasn’t it?” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said postgame. “He showed a lot of athleticism. He’s done that a lot. He’s made so many great catches out there, and that’s got to be right up there with one of the best. He went up that wall with ease and made it look easy.”
Pillar joins the Brewers' Lorenzo Cain as the only outfielders to win the award thus far in its inaugural season.