The All-Star Game doesn’t always live up to the hype that comes with a contest between baseball’s best players, but tonight’s event was particularly one-sided, with the senior circuit jumping on top early and rolling to a 8-0 victory.
American League starter Justin Verlander appeared locked in at the start when he struck out Carlos Gonzalez with a nasty breaking ball, but things quickly unraveled. Former Yankee and current Giant Melky Cabrera got things started with a single, and the next batter and reigning MVP Ryan Braun drove him home with a double to right field.
Verlander followed with a strike out of Joey Votto with another nasty hook, but then he lost control with walks to Carlos Beltran and Buster Posey. With the bases now loaded, the Kung Fu Panda Pablo Sandoval lobbed a triple into the fight field corner to get everyone home and make the score 4-0 National League. Dan Uggla then tacked on a run with an infield single before Verlander finally got out of the inning with a Rafael Furcal groundout.
In the fourth inning, the National League would add on three more runs to effectively put the game out of reach. With two outs, Furcal ripped a triple to right against Matt Harrison and was singled home by Matt Holliday, who had just entered the game in place of Gonzalez. Cabrera followed up with a line drive two-run homer to left field that proved to be the final tally in the 8-0 NL win.
R.A. Dickey’s first All-Star appearance went about as well as you could hope for. Angels phenom and American League Rookie of the Year candidate Mike Trout led off the sixth inning by lining a knuckleball back up the middle for a single, but Dickey settled down and struck out Trout’s teammate Mark Trumbo.
Trout did manage to steal second base during the Trumbo at-bat, but it hardly mattered because Dickey lost control of a knuckleball against Paul Konerko and the White Sox first baseman took first base on a hit-by-pitch. Dickey appeared headed for trouble with Miguel Cabrera at the plate and two runners aboard, but the Detroit slugger only managed a groundball to shortstop that Furcal turned into an inning-ending double play.
Compared to Dickey’s outing, Wright’s evening was even less eventful. After watching the supposedly less deserving Sandoval hit a three-RBI triple, Wright entered the game in the fourth inning on defense and stayed in to ground into a fielder’s choice in the fifth against Jered Weaver. Wright later struck out looking at the hands of Oakland reliever Ryan Cook.
In his final All-Star appearance, Mets nemesis Larry “Chipper” Jones gave a rousing pre-game speech that lifted his team to victory. He also managed a single to go 1 for 1 on the night. With two hits, two runs scored and two RBI, Melky Cabrera took home the MVP award of the NL’s third straight All-Star victory.
Now that home field advantage is wrapped up, all the Mets have to do now is make the playoffs! No problem, right?
