Marte's quick feet can help you steal a home
Quicken Loans sweepstakes offers chance to win mortgage payment valued at up to $1,500
An aggressive play by the Pirates on Saturday netted them a run during their 8-4 win over the Braves, 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 Pittsburgh's Starling Marte slid under the tag of Atlanta catcher A.J. Pierzynski as part of a double steal in the fifth inning, he became the fourth 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 6 p.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.
This particular steal of home came on a set play. With the Pirates ahead, 5-1, they had runners at first and third with two outs for Jordy Mercer, who was down 0-2 in the count to Braves right-hander Julio Teheran.
That's when Pedro Alvarez took off from first and got caught in a rundown when Teheran stepped off the mound. Before the Braves could tag Alvarez, Marte bolted for home and narrowly beat the throw from first baseman Joey Terdoslavich with a headfirst slide.
"You've got to go with what you believe can go," Bucs manager Clint Hurdle said. "You've got to be bold and aggressive. I don't believe in safety break. You believe in your guys, and you challenge them to make plays and do things."
On the play, Marte joined 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 robberies in 2014, the lowest total in any season since '07.