TORONTO -- The series finale between the Red Sox and Blue Jays had a fair bit of drama, including a wild yet unsuccessful straight steal of home by Brock Holt in the top of the fifth inning.
Boston, which pulled off an 11-8 win at Rogers Centre in a back-and-forth affair, was trailing by one in the fifth and had Holt on third base and Sandy Leon on first with two outs for Jackie Bradley Jr. Toronto left-hander Aaron Loup was on the mound and Holt tried to ambush the southpaw with an unexpected break for the plate.
"As Loup was coming in, we discussed it," Holt said. "It's something we've talked about before. Honestly, as soon as I took off, I thought I was going to make it. But he stepped off and made a good throw to home. If he makes a throw to the right or a little up or anything else, I think I'm in there. It's the first time I've ever tried it, so I was a little nervous. Obviously would've liked to get in there safe, but offensively we came back the next inning and we took the lead."
The count was 0-1 to Bradley when Holt charged home in a full sprint. The sold-out crowd at Rogers Centre jumped in anticipation after taking notice of Holt. Loup stepped off the rubber and then quickly fired home to secure the out.
"It wasn't until [Russell Martin], [Troy Tulowitzki] and [Josh Donaldson] yelled to step off that I noticed," Loup said. "I looked at [Leon] at first and he wasn't going anywhere, and then I happened to glance at third and Holt was halfway home. I just tried to not throw it to the backstop."
Entering Sunday, Bradley was 0-for-6 with three strikeouts against Loup, and he would strike out against the lefty to lead off the sixth.
"I think it's a good baseball play," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "Aaron Loup is extremely tough on Jackie, as history shows. I think if Brock waits maybe a count longer where Aaron picks up his leg into his delivery, he might make it. The fact is he broke just a tick too soon. He was able to step off and get him at the plate."
Loup's throw was a little high, but Martin was able to quickly reel it in and apply a tag to the diving Holt. Martin also gave a slight stare to Holt as he walked off the field, which drew even more attention from the crowd.
"It's an emotional game and moments like that happen," Loup said, adding that he wasn't insulted by Boston's attempt to steal a run. "I just had to keep my composure and make a good throw. I didn't have a chance to process it at all. I've seen that play over the course of the season, but it's never happened to me before. "
Despite having just three stolen bases, Holt is considered one of Boston's bigger threats on the bases and is often used as a late-game pinch-runner. The 28-year-old has 24 career steals and has been caught just five times.
"Obviously with no outs or one out, we're not going to try it," Holt said. "But it was a perfect situation to give it a shot. Just a good situation to give it a go, and unfortunately he made a good play on me."