Pillar broke back toward the wall on a dead sprint, extending his glove at the last possible second and snaring the baseball from the air. The centre fielder's momentum led to him crashing hard into the padded wall, sending him to the ground, where he caught his breath while on his back.
The catch was reminiscent of the one made in Game 3 of the World Series by former Blue Jays centre fielder Devon White, who was on hand Monday to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Pillar's heroics helped Stroman avoid having a rough start turn into a big inning.