SAN FRANCISCO – On Saturday, Kevin Pillar made his first big splash as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
In a tense moment of the game when the Giants were clinging to a 2-1 lead, Pillar made a spectacular diving catch in the outfield to prevent multiple runs from scoring. Pillar was not shy when asked if he expected to make the tough play off the bat.
“You’ll get to know me,” Pillar said. “I feel like that’s what I bring to the table. I’m super competitive, especially on the defensive side, especially when I’m not swinging the bat the way I’m capable of hitting. I’ve always had this mindset of, ‘If I’m not getting hits, other people don’t get hits.’ It’s probably not a good idea to hit it in my direction, because I’m going to try to take hits away.”
He also helped at the plate as well. Pillar’s 1-4 stat line is deceiving, as in the third inning, when the Giants needed a shot in the arm offensively, he delivered. His surprise drag bunt into the shift spurred the Giants into a 2 run inning, and he says he’s just doing what the Giant’s brought him in to do.
“That’s what they acquired me for: to just roam that big center field and come up with some hustle plays, steal some bases, and find ways to get on base,” Pillar said. “Boch did a good job before I went up there and just told me to kind of get it going. It’s a team I’m familiar with, and they play that shift.
“(Drag bunting) is not something I do a whole lot, but it’s something that I probably should do a little bit more, but it was definitely fun. It was the most fun I’ve had on a baseball field this year, and coming in after a win to see this environment was something I haven’t experienced in all my years of the big-leagues. It’s extra motivation to keep winning some games.”
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