Blue Jays infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. pulled off a straight steal of home plate against Red Sox starter Chris Sale in the fourth inning of Tuesday afternoon’s game in Boston. The Blue Jays were already leading 4-2 at the time, so Gurriel simply provided more of a cushion for starter Matt Shoemaker.
The Jays led off the fourth with back-to-back singles. Catcher Christian Vázquez couldn’t corral a Sale offering, which allowed Grichuk to move up to third base. Gurriel then drove him in with a single, also advancing Danny Jansen to second base. Gurriel and Jansen went 90 feet further on Richard Ureña’s sacrifice bunt. Vázquez then couldn’t corral another Sale pitch, allowing Jansen to score and Gurriel to move over to third. With the count 1-1 against Billy McKinney, Gurriel attempted a straight steal of home. Sale’s pitch was well out of the strike zone, bouncing off of the fence behind home plate. Gurriel scored easily and would have even if Sale’s pitch stayed in the strike zone.
