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Anaheim hosted the Major League Baseball All Star Game this year, but Los Angeles stole the show. The Dodgers had a heavy presence in Orange County, sending four men to represent the team: Andre Ethier, Rafael Furcal, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Jonathan Broxton. Ethier started the game in center, the first time he roamed that part of the field since his days at Arizona State. Andre finished 1-for-2, getting what looked like a clutch single with David Wright of the Mets on second in the fifth inning. However, Wright was held at third and eventually failed to score.
Hong-Chih Kuo came on to pitch the fifth, but it was an outing better left forgotten for the lefty. He walked Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria after getting ahead 0-2 to start the inning, and after Joe Mauer hit a soft grounder back that could not get past the mound, Kuo’s throw to first sailed over the head of Adrian Gonzalez of San Diego. With runners on second and third and nobody out, a deep sacrifice fly by the Yankees’ Robinson Cano was enough to score Longoria, giving the AL a 1-0 lead. Kuo managed to coax a grounder out of the Rays’ Carl Crawford, which shortstop Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins used to turn a fielder’s choice, nailing Mauer at third. That was all she wrote for Kuo.
Rafael Furcal had a key at-bat for the National League. After Atlanta’s Brian McCann hit a bases-clearing double to put the Senior Circuit up 3-1 in the seventh with two out, Furcal, who had already entered the game as a defensive replacement, worked the count full against Andrew Bailey of Oakland before drawing a walk. However, Brandon Phillips struck out to end the inning, and the NL could not tack on some insurance.
Furcal got some attention again when Jonathan Broxton came in to close the ninth. After giving up a leadoff single to Boston’s David Ortiz on the first pitch, Broxton looked like he had a lot of trouble ahead of him. However, he struck out former Dodger and current Red Sox third-baseman Adrian Beltre on three pitches for the first out. The next batter, John Buck, hit a dunker to the Cubs’ Marlon Byrd in right-field that looked to give the AL the tying runs on the bases. However, Ortiz hesitated, not knowing if Byrd would make a catch, and with his slow speed, Byrd was able to gun him down at second for a force play, connecting with Furcal for the outfield assist. Broxton then forced Ian Kinsler to fly out on the first pitch to end the game, securing the burly righty of his first All Star save.
It was a fast-paced All Star Game that reflected the dominance pitchers have had this season. Kuo did not even surrender a hit during his outing, and because of the error the lefty was not even charged with an earned run. The two leagues combined for 18 strikeouts and only 5 walks. Wright was the only player with multiple hits, while he, Derek Jeter of the Yankees, and Longoria were the only players to reach base twice.
National League fans walked away happy, knowing that their favorite team will have home field advantage in the World Series. It also broke the NL’s 13-year winless streak; the last win for the Senior Circuit came in 1996. The AL has won every game since, except for 2002 when the game ended in a tie.
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