Santana's own swipe can help fans steal a home
Quicken Loans sweepstakes offers chance to win mortgage payment valued at up to $1,500
Aggressive baserunning by the Astros on Friday capped a four-run 10th inning in a 12-8 win over the Red Sox, but it could pay even greater dividends for a lucky fan, thanks to the Quicken Loans "Steal A Home" program.
• Quicken Loans: Steal a Home Sweepstakes
When Houston's Domingo Santana slid across the plate unchallenged as part of a double steal in extra innings, he became the fifth Major Leaguer to swipe home plate this season. Each time a player pulls off a steal of home in 2015, fans have a 48-hour window to enter for a chance to win a free monthly mortgage payment of up to $1,500 from Quicken Loans. The deadline for entry is 12:30 a.m. ET on Monday.
The winner of the monthly mortgage payment also will receive two tickets to a game of his or her choosing, plus two MLB jerseys, two MLB.TV subscriptions and a $150 Fathead.com gift card from the MLB.com Shop.
It could get even better. By entering the sweepstakes for this opportunity, fans also are eligible for the Quicken Loans "Steal A Home" grand-prize drawing after the regular season ends. The winner will receive one year's worth of mortgage payments (up to $12,000) and an all-expense-paid trip to the 111th World Series opener. Fans can enter that sweepstakes any time before 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 4.
The Astros used a set play to complete this steal of home. Houston had already scored three runs in the 10th to take the lead in a back-and-forth game, but it didn't quit playing hard with runners on the corners and two outs for Jason Castro, who was down 1-2 in the count to Red Sox right-hander Noe Ramirez.
That's when Jon Singleton broke for second base on an offspeed pitch that was out of the zone, forcing a hurried throw from catcher Ryan Hanigan. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts went to the ground to field the ball, allowing Santana to sprint home without a throw.
On the play, Santana joined the Pirates' Starling Marte, the Blue Jays' Russell Martin, the Orioles' Jimmy Paredes and the D-backs' A.J. Pollock as the only players to steal home this season. There were eight such steals last year, the lowest total in any season since 2007.