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Primetime players: Pillar, Barney play big role
- Updated: June 1, 2016
TORONTO — When the Blue Jays were at their best en route to winning the American League East in 2015, their role players provided a boost on both sides of the ball.
On Tuesday, those important contributions came from Kevin Pillar and Darwin Barney, who stole the show and provided several noteworthy plays in Toronto’s 4-1 victory over the Yankees.
Looking as though the Blue Jays would once again have to rely on their heavily taxed bullpen in a seventh-inning deadlock, Pillar’s two-out RBI single off Yankees reliever Dellin Betances gave Toronto the lead, then Barney followed it up with a two-run single.
Pillar said he simplified his approach against the hard-throwing Betances. Finishing the contest 1-for-2 with a walk, his team-leading fifth stolen base and a run scored, Pillar had his fingerprints all over the game.
“For me, that hit today was good,” Pillar said about his sharply hit grounder off a 97-mph fastball. “I felt like my at-bats today would lead to something good. I was being selective. I was seeing pitches. I was in the zone, so that was a big moment for me.”
Dubbed “Superman” by his teammates and fans for his incredible catches, the 27-year-old assisted starter J.A. Happ in the fourth with a spectacular …
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