Kevin Pillar lays out to make yet another exceptional soaring catch

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar is no stranger to the tremendous defensive play. We’ve seen a lot of them over the years, from climbing walls to flying through the air. He added yet another exceptional defensive highlight to that list Monday, and it may even rival his best efforts.

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With the Blue Jays clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts belted a drive to deep right center. Pillar immediately gave chase to the ball, running full speed as he approached the warning track. With about a step or two before he reached the dirt, Pillar completely laid out, soaring through the air like Superman to make the catch.

The play kept Betts from a certain extra-base hit. Considering there were no outs in the inning, Pillar very well may have prevented the Red Sox from tying things up with the grab.

While the catch was tremendous, Marcus Stroman’s reaction may have been even better.

Though his defense has been solid, it’s been a mostly disappointing season for Pillar. While his power is up, both his batting average and on-base percentage are middling. He was also suspended earlier in the year after yelling a homophobic slur at Atlanta Braves reliever Jason Motte. Pillar apologized and donated the salary he forfeited during the suspension to two LGBTQ charities.

Pillar’s catch may have held off Boston in the sixth, but the club roared back in the seventh, scoring four runs to take a 6-3 lead. The Red Sox did so by making sure none of their fly balls were hit in Pillar’s general direction during the frame.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik