Americans Nip Nationals in 15 innings, Unbeaten in 12 Star Games
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Make that 11 wins and a tie for the American League in the last 12 All Star Games as Seattle Mariners perennial All Star centerfielder Ichiro Suzuki worked his annual trash-talking magic against the National League yet again, as he’s done each All Star Game since 2001. It took fifteen innings this time as the Americans pushed in a run on a bases loaded sacrifice fly in the fifteenth inning to edge the Nationals by a 4-3 score.
Phillies’ closer Brad Lidge got into 1 out, bases loaded jam as Minnesota Twins 1st baseman Justin Morneau singled to shallow center,Texas Rangers 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler lined out to leftfield and Tampa Bay Rays catcher Dioner Navarro followed by singling to centerfield. Lidge then walked Boston Red Sox rightfielder J.D. Drew loading the bases. Texas Ranger shortstop Michael Young then drove in Morneau with the winning run on a sacrifice fly to rightfield, with Morneau glazing his right foot onto the plate barely beating Milwaukee rightfielder Corey Hart’s throw and Atlanta catcher Brian McCann’s tag, to end the 4 hour, 50 minute Yankee Stadium marathon.
Colorado Rockies rightfieder Matt Holliday got the National League on the board first with a fifth inninglead-off solo homer to rightfield off of L.A. Angels’ Erwin Santana. In the sixth, the Nationals scored their 2nd run on Houston 1st baseman Lance Berkman’s sacrifice fly to centerfield off of Oakland A’s Justin Duchscherer after Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez singled to leftfield and went to 3rd on Phillies 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s single to right.
Boston rightfielder J.D. Drew tied up the game in the seventh with a 2 run shot to right off of Cincinnati’s Edwin Volquez.
The Nationals went ahead again in the eighth on San Diego Padres 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly to center scoring Astro shortstop Miguel Tejada who had singled, stole 2nd base and took 3rd on a catcher’s throwing error.
Hanley Ramirez, Tejada and St. Louis Cardinals’ DH Albert Pujols all had 2 hits for the Nationals. Drew and Morneau had 2 hits each for the Americans.
The Americans tied it up in their eighth inning on pinch hitter Tampa Bay 3rd baseman Evan Longoria’s ground rule double to leftfield off of Mets closer Billy Wagner scored Cleveland centerfielder Grady Sizemore who had singled to rightfield and stole 2nd base.
Then came extra innings and the Nationals eluding jams in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth innings, in spite of 3 errors by Florida 2nd baseman Dan Uggla, 2 plays at the plate in the tenth and one in the elventh, before finally going down in the fifteenth. Lidge, who was the 11th National League pitcher used, was charged with the loss. For play-by-play on the game, click here.
Suzuki, who won the 2007 All Star classic with an inside-the-park- homer and who again trash-talked the NL in the pre-game pep talk, was 1 for 3 with a harmless third inning lead-off single to rightfield off of Milwaukee’s starter Ben Sheets.
AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum notes these game facts for Yahoo sports;
Young got the winning hit off Trevor Hoffman in the 2006 All-Star game at Pittsburgh, and it gave the win to Tampa Bay’s Scott Kazmir, the 12th AL pitcher.
Young’s winning fly also avoided a repeat of 2002, when the game at Milwaukee ended in a 7-7, 12-inning tie—and caused the commissioner’s office to expand the rosters.
Drew was picked as the MVP, with his two-run homer in the seventh made it 2-all. Being from Boston, he was booed when presented with his trophy.
“One of those undescribable events,” Drew said. “To be voted in by the players and to be in this position is really an honor.”
This game tied the NL’s 2-1, 15-inning victory in 1967 at Anaheim.
With the American League win, the AL has earned the home field advantage in the 2008 World Series under the recent MLB rule-change awarding home field advantage to the league winning the season’s All Star game.
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