82nd All-Star (LAME) Game

On Tuesday, July 12th, MLB’s annual All-Star Game took place at Chase Field in Phoenix. The Red Sox were ably represented by Josh Beckett, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz. Many of the voted-in starters (Jeter, A-Rod, etc.) elected not to come to the game either due to injuries or “exhaustion”. These are the starting lineups:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Curtis Granderson (Yankees) CF
Asdrubal Cabrera (Indians) SS
Adrian Gonzalez (Red Sox) 1B
Jose Bautista (Blue Jays) RF
Josh Hamilton(Rangers) LF
Adrian Beltre (Rangers) 3B
David Ortiz (Red Sox) DH
Robinson Cano (Yankees) 2B
Alex Avila (Tigers) C

Pitching: RHP Jered Weaver (Angels), 11-4, 1.86

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rickie Weeks (Brewers) 2B
Carlos Beltran (Mets) DH
Matt Kemp (Dodgers) CF
Prince Fielder (Brewers) 1B
Brian McCann (Braves) C
Lance Berkman (Cardinals) RF
Matt Holliday (Cardinals) LF
Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies) SS
Scott Rolen (Cardinals) 3B

Pitching: RHP Roy Halladay (Phillies), 11-3, 2.45

In Monday night’s Home Run Derby, the Yankees’ Robinson Cano downed Adrian Gonzalez by a 12-11 score in a thrilling final round. There was also another incident in which a fan fell over a railing trying to catch a ball but he was saved by other fans who grabbed the fan’s ankles as he went over.

The roof at Chase Field was closed as the temps outdoors exceeded 100°. First pitch was at 8:40 and Granderson grounded out to first. Halladay then struck out Cabrera. A-Gon then grounded out to first. After Weaver allowed a walk to Kemp in the bottom of the first, Halladay retired the side in order in the second. The Yankees’ David Robertson entered in the bottom of the second. Josh Beckett was supposed to pitch this inning but his cranky knee acted up, which is not good news. Jose Bautista made a nice sliding catch of Brian McCann’s fly ball down the line in right. Lance Berkman lined a base hit up the middle but was thrown out at second trying to steal. After Halladay pitched two innings, Cliff Lee entered in the top of the third, and he retired the side on three ground outs. Seattle’s Michael Pineda took the hill in the bottom of the third and he struck out Rolen and Weeks. The replacements began filtering in before the fourth as Hunter Pence (Astros) and Justin Upton (D-Backs) entered the game. A-Gon homered to center with two outs in the fourth to put the AL on the board. Fielder then flubbed Bautista’s infield pop and Josh Hamilton blooped a single to center. At that point, Lee was relieved by Washington’s Tyler Clippard to face Beltre, who singled to left but Bautista was thrown out at home by Pence. Youkilis took over at third and CJ Wilson took over for Pineda in the bottom of the fourth. Beltran and Kemp each singled to start things off. Prince Fielder then lined a shot to left center that hit the top of the wall and bounced into the stands. Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) took over in the top of the fifth and struck out Ortiz. By the bottom of the fifth, the Americans made wholesale changes to the lineup. Tulowitski singled leading off and was replaced by the Cubs’ Starlin Castro, who stole second. With the Angels’ Walden now pitching, Castro moved to third but was thrown out at the plate on a fielder’s choice. The NL made it 4-1 when the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier singled in Weeks with two outs. In the top of the sixth, the Braves’ Jair Jurrens took over on the mound to face Ellsbury. Jurrens retired the side in order as the AL hitters have been tamed so far. The Indians’ Chris Perez came on to pitch the bottom of the sixth, allowed a two-out double but otherwise got out of the inning unscathed. Youkilis singled with two outs in the seventh and Jurrens was relieved by the Braves’ Craig Kimbrel, who walked Paul Konerko but got out of the inning on a grounder to second. With the Mariners’ Brandon League pitching in the bottom of the seventh, Pence singled and moved to third on a passed ball by Wieters. The Giants’ Pablo Sandoval sliced a single to left and Pence came in to make it 5-1. The Braves’ Johnny Venters quickly disposed of the first two batters in the eighth (including a strike out of Ellsbury) before giving way to the Padres’ Heath Bell. In the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers’ Alexei Ogando took over on the mound and retired two batters before giving way to Oakland’s Gio Gonzalez, who struck out the Reds’ Jay Bruce. The Pirates’ Joel Hanrahan came on in the ninth to close things out and struck out Michael Young. Carlos Quentin then reached on a throwing error by Castro and then Hanrahan gave up a single. Hanrahan was then relieved by Brian Wilson, who retired the next two batters thus putting an end to one of the more forgettable games in All-Star history. The game was played at a crisp 2:15. At least the fans got a little drama in the Home Run Derby…