AL All-Stars smack NL in DC slugfest
WASHINGTON – It seems only fitting the Midsummer Classic would reflect the two major trends in the game today: home runs and strikeouts.
Houston Astros teammates Alex Bregman and George Springer hit back-to-back homers in the top of the 10th inning to propel the American League to its 13th victory in the last 16 AllStar Games, 8-6.
It was the AL’s sixth consecutive victory. Including a tie in 2002, the AL has lost only three times in the last 22 All-Star Games.
The teams combined for 10 home runs (five apiece), the most in All-Star history.
The two biggest home runs were from Bregman and Springer off the Dodgers’ Ross Stripling, a flashback of sorts to Houston’s win over Los Angeles in a slugfest of a World Series last October.
“Just an incredible two years for the Houston Astros,” said Bregman, who became the first Astros player to win the game’s MVP award.
“I think I’ve failed in those situations more than I’ve come through. That’s why I think I’ve come through a few times.”
Bregman also had a local connection, as his grandfather was once the attorney for the Washington Senators. He said his father, Sam, “grew up on Ted Williams’ lap,” a reference to the Hall of Famer and Senators manager from 1969 to 1971.
The AL appeared to have things well in hand after Jean Segura broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the seventh.
But Christian Yelich slugged an opposite-field homer in the eighth and Scooter Gennett tied the score with one out in the ninth with a two-run blast into the NL bullpen.
Both benches erupted with delight as the teams went back and forth.
“I think these guys, they have these friendships, these connections with players around the league,” says A.J. Hinch, the Astros manager who managed the AL.
The AL broke out on top early on homers from Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, while the NL rallied to tie on solo shots from Willson Contreras and Trevor Story.
Meanwhile, the two pitching staffs combined for 25 strikeouts — 13 by NL pitchers and 12 by the AL.
Segura had only one at-bat, but he made the most of it. When your league is stocked with great shortstops, it isn’t easy to get a lot of recognition. Segura was third on the AL depth chart behind Manny Machado and Francisco Lindor, so he had to wait until the seventh inning to get a plate appearance.
Segura is hitting .323 on the season with seven homers, 47 RBI and 66 runs scored. In any other year, that might be good enough to get a starting spot. But not in this league.
NL first baseman Joey Votto had a chance to end Segura’s atbat one pitch before his home run when he dropped a foul ball by the NL dugout.
Votto had a long run as the high foul fly came down on the dugout side of the railing and it hit off the heel of his glove. The former Gold Glover bobbled it for a second and it bounced away, just eluding his grasp. Votto was charged with an error on the play.
When he came to the plate in the next inning, the Reds first baseman got a smattering of boos from the crowd.
And even when he settled under a routine pop fly in the top of the ninth, the fans still razzed Votto.
Meanwhile, Trout continues to make the Midsummer Classic his own personal showcase. The two-time All-Star MVP drew a walk his first time up against NL starter Max Scherzer, then launched a 1-2 pitch from Jacob deGrom over the left-field fence in the third to give the AL a 2-0 lead.
It was Trout’s second All-Star home run and his fifth extrabase hit. Only Ted Williams, with seven, has more.
During the game, Trout, donning a microphone, also had a good time chatting with broadcasters Joe Buck and John Smoltz from center field.
Trout, who turns 27 next month, is a strong contender for his third AL MVP award; he’s never finished lower than fourth in voting and has been an AllStar in all seven of his seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.
He has a prominent shoe deal with Nike and appeared in national advertisements for Subway earlier in his career. But he has consistently scored poorly in Q ratings and other relevance metrics; in fact, baseball players rarely crack the top 100 of such lists.
“I try to do as much as I can, but keep it to a point where I can still play baseball,” Trout told USA TODAY the day before the game when asked about off-field promotional activities.
“Obviously you want to get out there, but you’ve got to pick and choose, for sure.”
Scherzer, as expected, was pumped to be starting his second consecutive All-Star Game, especially since he was pitching in front of his home crowd.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez, who’s on the NL coaching staff, told reporters before the game he had to remind Scherzer serveral times not to get overly excited. “If he starts throwing 98 (mph), I may start worrying,” Martinez said.
After striking out leadoff hitter Mookie Betts on an 88 mph cutter, Scherzer ramped up his heater and fanned No. 2 batter Jose Altuve on a fastball that hit … yep, 98.
If Scherzer has a weakness, however, it’s been the home run ball. And in an otherwise typically dominant Scherzer start, he made one mistake.
Leading off the second inning, Judge hit a 0-1 Scherzer fastball 399 feet to left to give the AL a 1-0 lead.
With evidence mounting Machado will be traded before the regular season resumes, the AllStar Game may end up being his final game in an Orioles uniform.
The Dodgers were the oddson favorites to land Machado, and as luck would have it, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp hit a rocket down the left-field line and pulled into second base with a stand-up double.
Who was there to greet him? None other than AL shortstop Manny Machado, which meant it was the perfect time to take a selfie.
Kemp said before the game he is friends with Machado and felt like if Manny knew he was coming to L.A., he would have told him. Perhaps he did just then. AL NL
a-flied out for Goldschmidt in the 5th. b-walked for Martinez in the 6th. c-out on fielder’s choice for Ramirez in the 6th. d-flied out for Machado in the 6th. e-popped out for Molina in the 7th. f-singled for Cruz in the 8th. g-homered for Lindor in the 8th. h-homered for Albies in the 9th.
E—Votto. LOB—AL 9, NL 7. 2B—Kemp. HR—Judge, off Scherzer; Trout, off deGrom; Segura, off Hader; Bregman, off Stripling; Springer, off Stripling; Contreras, off Snell; Story, off Morton; Yelich, off Morton; Gennett, off Diaz; Votto, off Happ. RBIs—Trout, Judge, Bregman, Brantley, Springer, Segura 3, Contreras, Votto, Story, Yelich, Gennett 2. SF—Brantley.
Runners left in scoring position—AL 3 (Ramirez, Lindor, Haniger); NL 3 (Crawford, Aguilar 2). RISP—AL 1 for 5; NL 0 for 4.
Runners moved up—Judge, Albies. Inherited runners-scored—Jimenez 1-0, Hand 1-0. HBP— Morton (Suarez). WP—Morton. Umpires—Home, Ted Barrett; First, Jim Reynolds; Second, Alfonso Marquez; Third, Andy Fletcher; Right, Cory Blaser; Left, Mike Muchlinski.
T—3:34. A—43,843 (41,313).