MLB’s Rock & Roll All-Star Game
July 12, 2019
On Tuesday night, July 9, the American League (AL) topped the National League (NL) 4-3 in a crisply played Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The AL jumped out to a 4-1 lead and held on for its seventh consecutive win. The All-Star Game features the best MLB players in a midseason interleague exhibition. Cleveland Indians right-hander Shane Bieber, pitching before an adoring home crowd, struck out three National Leaguers in the fifth inning to earn the game’s Most Valuable Player award. Events surrounding the All-Star Game were rock music themed, as Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
The 2019 MLB All-Star Game logo honors the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, where the American League topped the National League 4-3 at Progressive Field on July 9, 2019. Credit: © Major League Baseball
Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, a first-time All-Star, started the game for the NL, and eight-time All-Star Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros took the hill for the AL. Both sides then rolled out new arms every inning, using 18 of the 31 pitchers invited to the game. Another Dodgers left-hander, Clayton Kershaw, surrendered the game’s first run in the second inning on a double by Astros outfielder Michael Brantley, scoring fellow Astro Alex Bregman. Minnesota Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco delivered an RBI (run batted in) single in the fifth for a 2-0 AL advantage, but Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon homered in the sixth to cut the lead in half.
In the seventh inning, Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman scored on a double play and Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo homered to extend the AL lead to 4-1. New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso brought the NL closer with a clutch two-out, two-run single in the eighth, but New York Yankees fireballer Aroldis Chapman fanned the side in the ninth to seal the 4-3 AL victory. AL pitchers set a record by striking out 16 NL hitters, the most ever in a 9-inning All-Star game.
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, seen here hitting at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, played in his eighth-straight All-Star Game on July 9, 2019. Trout wore number 45 during the game to honor his late teammate, Tyler Skaggs. Credit: Keith Allison (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)
The AL squad was led by Alex Cora, manager of the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Dave Roberts, manager of last year’s NL champion Dodgers, led the NL side for the second-straight year. A moment of silence before the game honored Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who passed away suddenly at age 27 on July 1, 2019 (there has been no official cause of death). Angels All-Stars Mike Trout and Tommy La Stella both wore Skaggs’s number 45 on their jerseys, and all players wore a black 45 patch on their uniforms.
Major League Baseball (MLB) Logo.
Credit: © Major League Baseball
Cleveland has now hosted six All-Star games (1935, 1954, 1963, 1981, 1997, and 2019), more than any other city. In the 1997 game, a 3-1 AL victory, the AL began an era of dominance over the NL, and the American Leaguers have now won 19 of the past 23 games. Overall, however, the history is nearly even. Since the first All-Star Game in 1933, the AL has won 45 times and NL squads have won 43 (along with 2 ties). The AL has outscored the NL by a scant 3 runs (373-370) in All-Star play. There was no All-Star Game in 1945 because of World War II travel restrictions, and from 1959 through 1962, there were two All-Star games each year.
In other All-Star festivities, a pair of slugging rookies took the Home Run Derby to new heights on Monday night. The Blue Jays’ 20-year-old Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., broke the single-round home run record (40) as well as the derby total record (91), but the Mets’ phenom Alonso bested Guerrero (son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero) 23-22 in the final round for the title. On Sunday evening, the best of Minor League Baseball squared off in the All-Star Futures Game. The AL and NL future stars battled to a 2-2 tie.
