MLB All-Star Game: National League rallies to end 9-game losing streak

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer

SEATTLE — Elias Díaz hit a two-run homer off Félix Bautista in the eighth inning, and the National League snapped a nine-game losing streak in the All-Star Game with a 3-2 victory over the American League on Tuesday night.

The NL won for the first time since an 8-0 victory in 2012 in Kansas City thanks to Díaz, a catcher who became the first Colorado Rockies player to win the All-Star MVP award.

Díaz, who was non-tendered by the Pirates at the end of 2019, drove a 2-and-2 pitch from Baltimore’s hard-throwing closer deep to left to put the NL in front. Díaz was the lone representative for Colorado in his first All-Star Game appearance.

“It does matter. We wanted to win, the American League we wanted to win,” Bautista said through an interpreter. “But overall I think that it’s an experience I’ll never forget and just wish that would have been a little bit different.”

He has nine homers this season, but he hadn’t hit a long ball since June 23 against the Angels.

“This means a lot to me, to my family,” he said. “Being in the ASG for me is amazing.”

For most of the night, the All-Star Game was a pitchers’ duel highlighted by a couple of big hits and some excellent defense.

It was a relatively quiet night for most of the players representing the Dodgers and Angels.

Angels star Shohei Ohtani started at designated hitter for the AL and went 0 for 1 with a walk and a strikeout. He was voted into the game as a pitcher as well, but he had ruled out pitching in the game last week.

Ohtani drew the biggest cheers outside of Seattle’s three representatives during introductions, and he was serenaded with chants of “Come to Seattle” when he was at the plate, the crowd well aware of his pending free agency.

“Never experienced anything like that, but I definitely heard it,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “But I was trying to focus on my at-bat.”

Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez pitched a scoreless fifth inning with two strikeouts.

The Dodgers’ J.D. Martinez started at DH for the NL and went 2 for 2 with a double and scored a run, but he was the only Dodger to get a hit. Mookie Betts went 0 for 2 with a strikeout, while Freddie Freeman and Will Smith each went 0 for 1 with a walk. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was elected to the game but is injured and did not play.

Things got nerve-wracking for the NL in the ninth. Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco flied out to the warning track leading off against Philadelphia closer Craig Kimbrel, who issued two-out walks to Houston’s Kyle Tucker and Seattle star Julio Rodríguez.

Kimbrel recovered to strike out Cleveland’s José Ramírez to end it. Kimbrel also pitched in the previous NL win, recording two outs in 2012.

“The ninth inning in the dugout was just a lot of fun to experience,” said San Diego’s Josh Hader, who pitched the eighth for the NL.

Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz hit a solo homer in the second inning and Toronto’s Bo Bichette’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning gave the AL a 2-1 lead.

The Dodgers’ Martinez – doubled and scored on a single by Miami’s Luis Arraez in the fourth against Seattle’s George Kirby, tying it at 1-1. Arizona’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. appeared to tie the score again in the seventh when his shot down the left-field line was originally ruled a homer but was overturned as a foul ball on replay.

The All-Star Game returned to the Emerald City for the first time since 2001 when the Mariners were in the middle of their magical 116-win regular season, Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. said goodbye to the All-Star stage and Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda took a tumble.

Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran High, UCLA) became the first New York Yankees pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Roger Clemens in that 2001 game. He needed a pair of spectacular leaping catches from Adolis García and Randy Arozarena near the wall to escape the first inning unscathed.

Pitching was the story of the night. Only nine balls were hit over 100 mph. There were 20 combined strikeouts, including San Francisco’s Camilo Doval silencing the home crowd with a strikeout of Rodríguez in the seventh inning where four of the five pitches topped 100 mph.

INJURIES

Toronto reliever Jordan Romano left in the seventh after throwing the pitch that Gurriel hit foul and was originally ruled fair. He threw five pitches before leaving the game with tightness in his back.

Chicago White Sox slugger Luis Robert Jr. did not play after feeling tightness in his right calf during the Home Run Derby. The White Sox said Robert underwent an MRI in Seattle and is listed as day to day.

SIX PACK

The Rangers made All-Star history when Nathan Eovaldi took the mound in the second. That marked the third time in an All-Star Game when there were six players from the same team on the field at the same time. It also occurred with the 1939 Yankees and 1951 Dodgers.

The Baseball Hall of Fame said a ball signed by all six players in the game would be headed to Cooperstown.

“That’s got to be one of the cooler moments in sports when you’ve got half the team on the field is your team, especially under these circumstances,” catcher Jonah Heim said. “It’s really special and I was glad I got to share it with these guys today.”

ATLANTA, WRIGLEY FIELD IN THE MIX FOR FUTURE GAMES

The Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs are under consideration for upcoming All-Star Games.

Next year’s game is scheduled for the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field in Arlington, and the 2026 game will be at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The 2021 All-Star Game was awarded to Atlanta’s Truist Park by Major League Baseball in 2019 but in April 2021 was moved to Denver’s Coors Field following objections to sweeping changes to Georgia’s voting laws.

“Atlanta is in the mix of clubs for the ’25 All-Star Game,” Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “I’m not prepared to go past that for right now.”

Chicago’s Wrigley Field last hosted the All-Stars in 1990.

“As time goes by, I’ve been more focused on keeping track of when a game was last there and trying to get back to places where we haven’t been in a really long time,” Manfred said. “That’s a long time.”

SKIPPED OVER

The Tampa Bay duo of Shane McClanahan and Wander Franco were inadvertently skipped over during pregame introductions. The pair jogged in on their own and left it to the Rays’ social media staff to give them a proper announcement.

ODE TO THE SONICS

Milwaukee’s Devin Williams has no known connection to Seattle, but he did his part in winning over fans with his footwear choice for the All-Star Game. Williams had custom green and yellow spikes made for the game, featuring past logos of the Seattle SuperSonics on each shoe.

Williams said he’s a casual NBA fan and doesn’t really remember the Sonics playing in Seattle.

“It seemed pretty fitting for the game,” Williams said.

MARINERS HONORED

Six of the eight members of Seattle’s All-Star contingent from the 2001 game were recognized pregame. John Olerud, Bret Boone, Freddy Garcia, Jeff Nelson, Kazuhiro Sasaki, Edgar Martinez and Manager Lou Piniella were honored. Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Cameron were also on the All-Star team that season.

Baseball Hall of Famers Martinez and Ken Griffey Jr. threw out the ceremonial first pitches to former teammates Dan Wilson and Jay Buhner.

UP NEXT

The post-All-Star break portion of the schedule starts Friday with every team in the league scheduled to be in action.

More to come on this story.