Blue Jays’ Kevin Pillar steals his way to franchise record

The Toronto Blue Jays won in dramatic fashion yesterday keyed by a trifecta of stolen bases from Kevin Pillar whose feet set a Jays franchise feat.

Kevin Pillar exposed and exploited Yankees reliever Dellin Betances who has great difficulty throwing over and attempting to pick off would be base stealers. Pillar was able to second, third and home giving the Blue Jays a two-run cushion heading into the 9th inning of yesterdays contest.

According to Baseball Almanac, the triple steal in one inning has been accomplished 51 times in the majors, the last time being in 2017 when Wil Myers of the Padres victimized the Philadelphia Phillies. The accomplishment hasn’t been pulled off in the American League since Chris Stynes of the Royals in 1996.

Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner have both done it four times during their career while Max Carey and Jackie Tavener are the only other players to have done it more than once. No Blue Jays player has ever done it prior nor have the Jays even fallen victim to the base runners hat-trick.

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Blue Jays: Alek Manoah on pace to succeed in possible postseason
• Blue Jays: Bradley Zimmer has carved himself a valuable role
• Anthony Bass has been the shutdown reliever the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. open to a long-term contract
• Blue Jays: Snapping cold streaks at the right time

Pillar stole 15 bags last season down from his 25 total of 2015 said postgame that he has lost weight this past offseason and one of his personal goals is to be more of a threat on the base paths in 2018. This is something the Blue Jays sorely lacked in 2017 as the team finished second last in the majors with only 53. So far this season the more athletic Jays have five thefts in three games.

What K.P. pulled off yesterday was exhilarating, to say the least, but it is also one of the moments that can bond a team early in the season and jumpstart a winning streak especially after going winless in the first two games to begin the 2018 campaign.

Next: Blue Jays baseball feels weird without Jose Bautista

We will see what the Jays have in store for their division rivals this afternoon but one thing is for sure yesterday was a game for the ages and one that I personally will never forget. Amazing effort Superman, keep it going.