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NEW YORK: Michael Young drove in the winning run with a sacrifice
fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League (AL) a 4-3 win
over the National League (NL) and capping the longest all-star game
in history.
Young’s hit to right field scored Justin
Morneau in the 15th inning Tuesday in the final all-star classic at
historic Yankee Stadium which is due to be torn down in November.
J.D. Drew helped the AL rally for the win in the
marathon game by hitting a 2-run home run in the seventh inning that
erased the NL’s 2-0 lead.
Brad Lidge (0-1)—the last pitcher left on the
NL side—loaded the bases in the 15th before Texas’ Young lifted
a high fly to right.
Corey Hart fired to the plate, but the throw was
slightly off center, allowing Morneau to slide in safely and give
the AL their 12th consecutive all-star win.
“It was fun to be part of,” said AL manager
Terry Francona.
The game tied the record for longest all-star
game in terms of innings and surpassed the record in terms of total
time.
Records were set across the board, as the teams
combined for the most total stolen bases in an all-star game—7, 6
by the AL—and strikeouts with 34, 17 apiece.
Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who
entered the contest with six errors on the season, set a dubious
mark with three miscues in the four-hour, 50-minute contest.
“I was doing Chinese arithmetic from the sixth
inning on,” NL manager Clint Hurdle said.
Much to the chagrin of the home fans, Boston Red
Sox outfielder Drew was named the game’s MVP.
The slugger became the 15th player in all-star
history to homer in his first at-bat, clubbing a two-run blast off
Edinson Volquez to knot the score at 2-2 in the seventh.
The Yankee Stadium crowd rose in approval as
Drew’s blast cleared the fence, but began to boo again as he
rounded third and headed toward home.
The AL squad threatened to end the game against
Colorado’s Aaron Cook in both the 10th and 11th. The junior
circuit loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th on pair of errors
by Uggla and an intentional walk.
Cook forced 3 straight groundballs to escape
the jam.
Cook caught a break in the 11th when Ian Kinsler
was thrown out trying to steal second after a leadoff single, but
surrendered a walk to Dioner Navarro and a single to Drew to put
runners on first and second.
Young followed with a sharp single to center
field. The Pirates’ Nate McClouth picked up the ball on the run
and fired towards home, where catcher Russell Martin had the plate
blocked.
Navarro was out and Cook retired Carlos Quentin
to end the threat.
The NL loaded the bases in the 12th, but
lefthander George Sherrill came on to strike out Adrian Gonzalez and
end the senior circuit’s best scoring opportunity.
The NL held a 3-2 lead in the eighth after an
unearned run off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was the
source of vociferous booing by the Yankee Stadium crowd after an
article in a New York newspaper suggested that the Boston closer
believed he should get the call over Yankees closer Mariano Rivera
in a save situation.
The AL tied the score again in the bottom of the
frame, when rookie Evan Longoria lifted a ground-rule double down
the left-field line to score Grady Sizemore, who had singled and
stolen second base.
-- AFP
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