Home Runs Aplenty As AL Tops NL, 8-6
Jul 18, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:31 am
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Nine months after the World Series, the Astros are still finding ways to torment the Dodgers.
Astros Alex Bregman and George Springer hit back-to-back home runs off of Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling in the top of the tenth inning to give the American League an 8-6 victory over the National League.
Bregman’s only hit of the night was the go-ahead home run in the tenth but it was enough to give the third baseman All-Star Game MVP.
It’s only fitting that the winning runs were scored on back-to-back solo shots as there were no shortages on home runs in this year’s Midsummer Classic. A total of ten home runs were hit in the 89th All-Star Game which shattered the previous record of six.
The scoring started in the second inning when Yankee outfielder Aaron Judge took Nationals ace Max Scherzer deep to give the American League an early 1-0 lead. Angels outfielder Mike Trout followed suit in the third when he hit one over the left field fence off of Mets starter Jacob deGrom, extending the lead to two. In six career All-Star appearaces, Trout now has a career batting average of .467 (7 for 15) with two home runs, four RBIs, and four runs.
The National League would respond in the bottom half of the third inning as Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras would hit his first career All-Star home run off of Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The scoring would stall until the bottom of the seventh when Rockies shortstop Trevor Story would sneak one over the left field fence to tie the game at two. The tie wouldn’t last long as in the top of the eighth, Segura would put the American League ahead 5-2. The three runs driven in by Segura are the most RBIs in an All-Star game by any player in Mariners history.
Christian Yelich would then hit the sixth home run of the night in the bottom of the eighth to put the National League within two runs.
In the ninth inning, the American League would bring in Mariners pitcher Edwin Diaz to try to seal the deal but Scooter Gennett had other ideas. With one out and J.T. Realmuto on first, Gennett would deposit one into the right field bleachers and tie the game at five.
National League manager Dave Roberts brought in Ross Stripling to pitch the top of the ninth and left him in to pitch the tenth. Bregman lead off the inning with the go-ahead home run to put the American League up 6-5. Springer would follow-up and hit the game-winning home run on the very next pitch extending the lead to two. Michael Brantley would hit a sacrifice fly scoring Segura, which was the game’s first run scored by something other than a home run, giving the American League an 8-5 lead.
Joey Votto would hit the tenth home run of the game in the bottom half of the tenth off of J.A. Happ to make it an 8-6 game but the National League couldn’t capitalize as that would be the final run of the game.
The win tonight gives the American League their sixth win in a row and their first lead in the series since 1963.
