All-Star game recap: Prince Fielder and Mike Trout lead AL to 6-3 win
With the combined hitting prowess of Prince Fielder and Mike Trout, the American League won yet another MLB All-Star game, beating the National League 6-3 in Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark.
• The always excellent Mike Trout had himself a great game that started with a lead-off homer and finished with two runs scored. He also walked in the seventh inning and was removed for pinch runner Brock Holt, who also came around to score.
• Prince Fielder continued to announce that he’s back in a big way this season, with two RBIs off the bench. His single in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie and his sac fly in the seventh put the AL up 5-2.
• Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom had the single most impressive pitching performance of the night. He struck out the side in the sixth inning on only just 10 pitches.
• The best offensive performer for the NL was Andrew McCutchen, who homered in the sixth inning off Chris Archer.
• Other notable offensive contributions for the AL: Manny Machado, who hit an RBI double in the seventh inning, and Brian Dozier, who homered in the eighth.
• Clayton Kershaw, who hasn’t been at his MVP best this season, was beat up by the AL lineup in the fifth inning. With the score tied 1-1 when he arrived, Kershaw allow Fielder’s go-ahead single, followed by an RBI double by Lorenzo Cain.
• Bryce Harper came into the All-Star Game with plenty of hype and a proven flair for the dramatic. On this big stage, however, Harper didn’t do … well, anything. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
• The National League in a bigger sense. They’ve won the All-Star game only three times since 1997.
Fielder was matched up lefty on lefty against Kershaw in the fifth inning and knocked an opposite field single to left field that broke the 1-1 tie and put the AL ahead for good. A key hit in a tough spot against a tough pitcher.
When Trout homered in the first inning, he became the ninth player in MLB history to complete the All-Star game “cycle” — which is to say he’s hit a single, double, triple and homer in All-Star Games. But get this, Prince Fielder needed a single to become the 10th player to join that club. And he did it later in the game.
The rest of that group, according to Bob Vetrone Jr. of the Philly Daily News: Willie Mays, Steve Garvey, Ernie Banks, George Brett, Roberto Clemente, Mike Schmidt, Lou Whitaker and Ted Williams.
• The pregame ceremony in which Pete Rose was honored as a member of the Cincinnati Reds’ Franchise Four winners. Rose got a huge ovation from the hometown crowd.
• The first pitch was pretty special, with Sandy Koufax throwing to Johnny Bench.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
