Kevin Pillar gives Blue Jays one Canada Day moment to remember

There are a number of ways this year’s Canada Day game didn’t go the way the Toronto Blue Jays would have wanted.

Facing off against a talent-poor Detroit Tigers team, the Blue Jays saw their most reliable starter and best trade chip falter, they produced virtually nothing with the bat, and the game ended in an uncompetitive 9-1 loss.

Even with the Blue Jays wearing their patriotic reds, it’s hard to elicit the “feels” in the crowd for a game totally lacking in tension where the home side doesn’t do anything.

“Everyone was excited for Canada Day and things started out well. We had the right guy on the mound,” Kevin Pillar said of the game. “They’ve been swinging the bats well, they just haven’t been able to win games. They got the big grand slams and had a couple balls in there that put the game out of reach.”

Luckily for the 33,435 in attendance, with the game almost at its conclusion in the ninth inning, Pillar absolutely did something. The Blue Jays outfielder rushed back on a 100-mph rocket off the bat of Nick Castellanos and scaled the wall just to the left of the massive “Canada” sign in centre to rob a sure home run.

Finally given something to cheer about the crowd came alive, filling the mercifully-closed dome with a cacophonous showing of appreciation for Pillar. It was all the bundled up energy from a brutal game on a special day, unleashed at once.

“It’s just another one for his old highlight reel,” manager John Gibbons said. “He’s got a thick one.”

The fans continued to give Pillar his when he stepped to the plate in the ninth, even though there was no hope for a comeback. It was their way of thanking him for making an utterly unremarkable game something worth remembering.

Canada Day at Rogers Centre is meant to be something special. On Sunday, it was very nearly the polar opposite — until Superman saved the day.

More Blue Jays coverage from Yahoo Canada Sports: