July 15, 2008
MLB All Star Game
Yankee Stadium, New York, NY
Blogging here from Yankee Stadium, site of the 2008 Midsummer Classic. Of course, this is the final time Yankee Stadium will host the game, as next season it is set to be replaced by a new stadium across the street. 56,831 fans in attendance tonight looking for the AL to continue their amazing winning streak, having taken ten of eleven games since 1997. (2002 ended in a tie)
Starting lineups have been announced:
National League: 1. Jose Reyes, 2. Andre Either, 3. Chase Utley, 4. Albert Pujols, 5. Drew Anderson, 6. Ryan Church, 7. Rick Ankiel, 8. Geovany Soto, 9. Ryan Zimmerman.
American League: 1. Ichiro Suzuki, 2. Robinson Cano, 3. Josh Hamilton, 4. Alex Rodriguez, 5. David Ortiz, 6. Justin Morneau, 7. Victor Martinez, 8. Nick Markakis, 9. Bobby Crosby.
Tonight starting pitchers, for the American League, Toronto's Roy Halladay and, for the National League, Chicago's Rich Harden.
Top 1st:
Utley opens scoring...
Roy Halladay opened the game with a three pitch strikeout of Jose Reyes before Andre Either sinlged to center. Chase Utley followed with a towering fly ball, barely escaping a leaping Ichiro at the wall for a two-run home run...Albert Pujols walked and Drew Anderson singled to left...Ryan Church, after a passed ball advanced the runners to second and third, struck out on a splitter in the dirt...two outs...Rick Ankiel followed with a grounder to short that deflected off the glove of Bobby Crosby, allowing Pujols and Anderson to score...Halladay strikes out Soto for the three K of the inning, but four runs put the NL ahead early...
Bottom of the 1st:
Harden makes easy work...
...Ichiro, leading the AL in batting, leads things off with a single back up the middle...Ichiro got stealing second, soto to Reyes for the easy out...Harden induces easy groundouts from Cano and Hamilton to Utley to end the inning.
Top of the 3rd:
Halladay out, Nathan in:
Terry Francona used a quick hook on his starting pitcher, lifting Roy Halladay after two unimpressive innings. Halladay's line: 2 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 48 pitches thrown....Nathan sent Ultey, Pujols and Anderson down 1-2-3...
Bottom of the 3rd:
Lidge in for NL, AL gets first run
Following Francona's lead, manager Clint Hurdle made the call to the 'pen, brining in Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge after two shutouts innings by Rich Harden...Lead off BB wastes as Crosby lines into DP, Utley to Pujols...Ichiro singles to left...Cano with a long drive to right...Either races to the wall, and its off the top. Suzuki takes third and he'll cross the plate as Cano collects a standup double...4-1 NL...Hamilton with a lazy fly to Either for the third out.
Bottom of the 4th:
Marmol uneven, but escapes trouble
...Alex Rodriguez leads off with a base on balls...advances to second on a fielder's choice by David Ortiz...Morneay lines a single over Utley's head, runners on the corners, one out...Victor Matinez up next...lines a shot down the left field line...Rodriguez in easily, Morneau around second, but holds up at third. RBI double for Martinez...Markakis strikes out, two down...Crosby grounds out to Zimmerman, AL manages to add a run...4-2, NL...
Top of the 5th:
NL Threatens, Street Holds On
...An errant throw by Martinez looks costly, as Reyes advances to third with one out on the stolen base attempt...A strikeout by Either has Street looking confident...Ohh...long shot by Utley...Ichiro racing back to the warning track...and he makes the grab...AL still trails this game, 4-2...
Top of the 6th:
...Story of the game so far has to the be the American League bullpen. Halladay surrenders four runs in the first inning, then Nathan, Putz, Street and Benoit combine for four hitless innings of relief...
Top of the 7th:
...Matsuzaka keeps NL off the board, but Soto gets first hit since first inning for the NL...
Bottom of the 7th:
...Nick Markakis leads off with a walk against Arizona's Brandon Lyon and is lifted for a pinch runner, Anaheim's Chone Figgins...Grady Sizemore pinch hits for Crosby...First pitch running for Figgins, and he's into second ahead of Soto's throw...Sizemore walks, go-ahead run at the plate in the form of Carl Crawford...Crawford pops out to Pujols..one down..Robinson Cano slaps a liner over Utley's head, Figgins takes third and heads home...A run-scoring single by Cano...Hamilton up next, 0-3 tonight....A grounder to Zimmerman, throw to Utley at second for one, to first...and he's...safe! Sizemore takes third..Carlos Guillen pinch hits, a easy fly out to Ehtier in left...and he makes the grab...two runners left one. the National League is still in front, 4-3...
Top of the 8th:
Bobby Jenks follows Matsuzaka with a 1-2-3 inning...Excitement growing in Yankee Stadium as the AL tries to rally back...
Bottom of the 8th:
...Quite a scene on the mound, as New York Met John Maine takes the mound to a loud round of boos...And cheers, as Boston DH David Ortiz lines a double down the right-field line past a diving Albert Pujols..,Francona leaves Ortiz in to run at second, A.J. Pierzynski's the pinch hitter, Billy Butler the only hitter left on the bench...Wild pitch by Maine, Ortiz to third...Pierzynski down on strikes...Victor Martinez pops out to Reyes behind third base...two down...Bartolo Colon in to pitch to Chone Figgins, ground ball left side, Durham to Pujols..three down..AL wastes a golden opportunity, trail 4-3...
Top of the 9th:
...Joba Chamberlain in to pitch in front of the home crowd..Pinch hitter Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres leads off for the NL...long drive, headed toward the gap in deep right...Hamilton turns and races back, but he'll watch it go...399 feet and Gonzalez got all of that one..Martin and Ankiel followed a flyout by Derek Anderson, runners at the corners, one out...sharp line drive by Soto, drops in front of Crawford, Martin in to score...Francona to the mound, out comes Chamberlain...Ervin Santana the new AL pitcher...Zimmerman with a liner, Crawford there in time...two away...Reyes grounds out to Figgins, three down...The NL grabs two runs to push their lead to 6-3...
Bottom of the 9th:
...AL down by three now, with Takashi Saito on the mound for Clint Hurdle's NL squad...Magglio Ordonez, second behind Ichiro in the AL in batting, leads off...Saito with the 1-2 pitch...Ordonez couldn't check his swing, one down...Crawford with a sharp liner down to third, Zimmerman snares it...to first, Crawford is out...two away...Cano with a fly ball to short left, chasing it is Either...and he reels it in...that's the end of the game...National League wins it, 6-3.
Roy Halladay with an uneventful performance to take the loss. Brad Lidge is credited with the win in relief. MVP Honors go to Chase Utley, who was 1-3 with two RBIs on a first inning home run off Halladay.
That's all from Yankee Stadium, until next time...