It was a fitting tribute to one of Pittsburgh's and baseball's favorite sons. Despite the initial scoring excitement in the second inning, both teams appeared to be at a stalemate. Ryan went one each to set up Rivera. They held the National lineup hitless in the final five innings. Things appeared to be tipped in the National League's favor, that is, until the final inning, when the American League hitters came alive. Staked to a lead in the ninth, Padres closer Trevor Hoffman quickly retired the first two batters that he faced on ground balls back to the mound.
Both Hoffman's reputation and record 18 shy of Lee Smith's all-time save record of spelled disaster, but things weren't quite over for the Americans yet. Then Troy Glaus nearly tied the game with a double to deep left field. But the ball bounced into the bleacher seats and pinch runner Jose Lopez was forced to hold steady at third.
After getting ahead of Rangers shortstop Michael Young with two quick strikes, Hoffman surrendered a two-run triple that proved to be the National's deathblow. The "Sandman" got Freddy Sanchez to ground out to third base for the first out, but Seattle's Jose Lopez couldn't handle his second opportunity, as the third baseman committed an error on a grounder hit by Carlos Beltran. But Beltran moved from first to second, putting the tying run in scoring position. Unfortunately for NL fans, Milwaukee's Carlos Lee couldn't take advantage of the situation and popped out to Young at second base.
The save was Rivera's third in the Midsummer Classic, tying him with Dennis Eckersley for the most in history. The loss dropped the NL record in All-Star Games to , and once again secured home field advantage for the American League for the fourth consecutive year.
This is the Midsummer Classic. This is a big, big game for us. This is a game that means a lot. It had lost its luster. Players didn't seem to care.
They'd wouldn't show up and if they did, they left early. Now, what you have is real intensity because each league understands that they're playing for home-field advantage in the World Series. I think it's the best way to do it. When Trevor Hoffman took the mound in the ninth inning, it almost seemed as if the win was a lock. Three time All-Star and this years Most Valuable Player Award winner Michael Young said, "I have a great deal of respect for that guy, he's about to break the saves record.
He's a great guy and I do consider myself fortunate to be in that situation in the first place. I think everyone dreams of having a big All-Star Game.
I'm happy about it. Copyright Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. Part of the Baseball Almanac Family. Follow BaseballAlmanac Find us on Facebook. Pitcher s N. Home Runs N. Ivan Rodriguez 13 Detroit Tigers C 9. Albert Pujols 5 St.
Louis Cardinals 1B 5. Where what happened yesterday is being preserved today. Attendance Rank. About logos. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Are you a Stathead, too? Subscribe to our Free Newsletter. This Month in Sports Reference Find out when we add a feature or make a change. Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Soriano was on second when Beltran singled, but Toronto's Gold Glove center fielder, Vernon Wells , cut down the speedy Soriano with a perfect throw to the plate.
Beltran reached second on the throw and stole third with two outs -- with Albert Pujols at the plate. The Mets' center fielder then scored on a wild pitch by Roy Halladay that glanced off Rodriguez, giving the NL its first lead since that eighth inning in I prepared like it was a regular-season game, and came out and threw strikes, but sometimes it happens," Hoffman said. Even pitchers were allowed to wear them, on their glove hands. Young's special wristband is headed to the Hall of Fame.
Wright became the 13th player to homer in his first All-Star game at-bat. At , this was the fastest All-Star Game since it took in A third baseman for most of his career, Glaus shifted to first base for the ninth inning. He's never played the position in a regular-season game. With the Mets deciding to retire the No. Elian Soto, a year-old outfielder and third baseman from the Dominican Republic who isn't eligible to formally sign until next year's international free agent class, has verbally agreed to join the Nationals, for whom his brother Juan Soto plays.
The Twins will retire No. Skip to main content Skip to navigation.
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