ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Boston’s Jarren Duran, the All-Star MVP, hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the fifth inning and the American League beat the National League 5-3 on Tuesday night for its 10th win in the past 11 All-Star Games.
Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes pitched a hitless first for the NL, twice hitting 100 m.p.h., and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a three-run homer in the third to give the NL a 3-0 lead.
Juan Soto hit a two-run double and scored on David Fry’s single to tie the score in the third, and Duran went deep off Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene.
Duran is the fifth Boston player to be an All-Star MVP, the first since J.D. Drew in 2008. The others were Pedro Martinez in 1999, Roger Clemens in 1986 and Carl Yastrzemski in 1970.
“It’s a surreal moment. So I’m just thankful to be here,” said Duran, who was one of 39 first-time All-Stars this year.
Oakland right-hander Mason Miller got the win after throwing a 103.6 m.p.h. pitch, the fastest in the All-Star Game since tracking began in 2008. Hard-throwing Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase struck out two in the ninth for the save.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays went 0-for-2 at the plate, but made some strong defensive plays at first base for the AL.
The 22-year-old Skenes, who has pitched only 11 big-league games since being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft last July, became the first rookie starter since 1995 and had the fewest games played for any player to make an All-Star team. The right-hander threw a hitless first, with a two-out walk to Soto before his Yankees teammate Aaron Judge grounded into a forceout on the next pitch.
Skenes threw 11 of 16 pitches for strikes, with seven fastballs up to 100.1 m.p.h.
Ohtani, who has gone deep 29 times in the first season of his record $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers, pulled a 400-foot drive to right off Tanner Houck. That came after the Boston right-hander allowed singles to the first two batters he faced: No. 9 batter Jurickson Profar and leadoff hitter Ketel Marte.
“I haven’t really hit well in the All-Star Game, so I’m just relieved that I put the ball in play,” Ohtani said. “I just focused on having a regular at-bat as if I was in the regular season.”
When Ohtani went against Miller in the fifth, he struck out on an 89.2 m.p.h. slider well inside and out of the strike zone. That was after twice taking strikes on fastballs of more than 100 m.p.h.
Ohtani’s first All-Star homer made him the first Dodgers player to go deep in the Midsummer Classic since Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza off Cleveland’s Charles Nagy in 1996 at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium. Eleven days after his 30th birthday, Ohtani was an All-Star for the fourth time — his first with the NL.
Baltimore’s Anthony Santander, after taking over for Soto in right field, had a two-out single in the fifth before Duran’s 413-foot homer to right-centre after he had replaced Judge in centre.
The AL has a 48-44-2 record in the All-Star Game, and had won nine in a row before the National League’s 3-2 victory last year in Seattle.
AL starter Corbin Burnes arrived in Texas the morning of the game after spending time at home with his newborn twin daughters. The Baltimore right-hander allowed a walk and then a two-out double to Bryce Harper before getting out of his inning on a comebacker by William Contreras, his catcher last season in Milwaukee.
After his underhand toss of the ball to first base, Burnes had a big smile on his face when he kept jogging and wrapped his arm around Contreras on the baseline.
QUICK GAME
Played in two hours, 28 minutes, it was the shortest All-Star Game since 1988, a game that the AL won 2-1 in Cincinnati that took only two minutes less.
BRUCE THERE IT IS
Bruce Bochy of the host Rangers became the first manager to win World Series titles and All-Star Games in both leagues. Bochy is now 2-3 as an All-Star manager, leading the NL to a win in 2011. He won the World Series three times with the NL’s San Francisco Giants in 2010, 2012 and 2014, then led the Rangers to their first championship in his debut season with them last year.
UP NEXT
The MLB regular season resumes Friday when 14 games are scheduled, with Milwaukee and Minnesota the only teams that won’t play until Saturday. Philadelphia (62-34) has the best record in the majors and Cleveland (58-37) has an AL-best .611 winning percentage, though Baltimore and the New York Yankees also have 58 wins. San Diego (50-49) is set to become the first team to play its 100th game, at the Guardians on Friday night.
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