MLB All Star Game: Fielder blast lifts National League to 5-1 win
PHOENIX - Prince Fielder smacked a three-run homer to lead the National League to a 5-1 win over the American League in Tuesday's All Star Game and clinch home field advantage in this year's World Series.
Milwaukee Brewers slugger Fielder connected off Texas Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson in the bottom of the fourth, sending the ball off the top of the wall in left-center to score Carlos Beltran of the Mets and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers.
The victory gave the National League their first back-to-back All-Star Game wins for 15 years.
Fielder, whose usual game-face scowl turned into a broad grin by the time he got back to the dugout after his homer, was named Most Valuable Player of the game.
"That was a lot of fun," Fielder said in a mid-game interview. "I'm just glad I could help out."
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, whose team battle the Brewers in the NL Central, said he was used to seeing Fielder come up with big plays.
"He's MVP, man," said Phillips even before Fielder was officially announced as the award winner. "He's MVP of this game and the way he's been playing he can be the MVP of the National League, period. I'm happy that he came through for us today."
The game was played in good spirits, with some fine defensive plays and some playful fun punctuating the action.
Blue Jays right-fielder Jose Bautista made a fine sliding catch in foul ground, and Houston Astros left-fielder Hunter Pence threw a strike to home plate to nail Bautista trying to score on an Adrian Beltre single.
Relief pitcher Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres provided some levity.
Bell plopped down next to some young fans behind the dugout during the game, chatting with them and giving them some mementos of the game.
Later when he was summoned to pitch in the eighth, the beefy Bell sprinted in from the left-field bullpen, going into a slide on the infield grass just before reaching the pitcher's mound, much amusement of the infielders awaiting his entrance.
The game started on a sombre note, with a moment of silence for the victims of a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, in January that wounded 14 people and killed six.
National League starter Roy Halladay and his AL counterpart Jered Weaver kept the bats quiet early, with Phillies hurler Halladay retiring six batters on just 19 pitches.
Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez put the first run on the board with a solo homer to right-center off Philadelphia's Cliff Lee in the third for the American League's first hit.
Fielder answered that with his three-run smash. Andre Ethier of the Dodgers and San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval also drove in runs to pad the NL's lead before a crowd of 48,000 that included Muhammad Ali.
Nine National League pitchers limited the AL to just six hits with Brian Wilson of World Series champions San Francisco getting the last two outs for the save.
Wilson said winning home field advantage for the World Series was worthwhile.
"It really is beneficial to have those first two games in front of the home crowd," said Wilson. "It really helped us last year."
Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett felt discomfort in his knee as he warmed up to enter the game and sat out as a precaution, and Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera left the game after feeling soreness in his side after an at-bat. - Reuters
Milwaukee Brewers slugger Fielder connected off Texas Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson in the bottom of the fourth, sending the ball off the top of the wall in left-center to score Carlos Beltran of the Mets and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers.
The victory gave the National League their first back-to-back All-Star Game wins for 15 years.
Fielder, whose usual game-face scowl turned into a broad grin by the time he got back to the dugout after his homer, was named Most Valuable Player of the game.
"That was a lot of fun," Fielder said in a mid-game interview. "I'm just glad I could help out."
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, whose team battle the Brewers in the NL Central, said he was used to seeing Fielder come up with big plays.
"He's MVP, man," said Phillips even before Fielder was officially announced as the award winner. "He's MVP of this game and the way he's been playing he can be the MVP of the National League, period. I'm happy that he came through for us today."
The game was played in good spirits, with some fine defensive plays and some playful fun punctuating the action.
Blue Jays right-fielder Jose Bautista made a fine sliding catch in foul ground, and Houston Astros left-fielder Hunter Pence threw a strike to home plate to nail Bautista trying to score on an Adrian Beltre single.
Relief pitcher Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres provided some levity.
Bell plopped down next to some young fans behind the dugout during the game, chatting with them and giving them some mementos of the game.
Later when he was summoned to pitch in the eighth, the beefy Bell sprinted in from the left-field bullpen, going into a slide on the infield grass just before reaching the pitcher's mound, much amusement of the infielders awaiting his entrance.
The game started on a sombre note, with a moment of silence for the victims of a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, in January that wounded 14 people and killed six.
National League starter Roy Halladay and his AL counterpart Jered Weaver kept the bats quiet early, with Phillies hurler Halladay retiring six batters on just 19 pitches.
Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez put the first run on the board with a solo homer to right-center off Philadelphia's Cliff Lee in the third for the American League's first hit.
Fielder answered that with his three-run smash. Andre Ethier of the Dodgers and San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval also drove in runs to pad the NL's lead before a crowd of 48,000 that included Muhammad Ali.
Nine National League pitchers limited the AL to just six hits with Brian Wilson of World Series champions San Francisco getting the last two outs for the save.
Wilson said winning home field advantage for the World Series was worthwhile.
"It really is beneficial to have those first two games in front of the home crowd," said Wilson. "It really helped us last year."
Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett felt discomfort in his knee as he warmed up to enter the game and sat out as a precaution, and Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera left the game after feeling soreness in his side after an at-bat. - Reuters
We welcome healthy discussions and friendly debate! Please click Flag to alert us of a comment that may be abusive or threatening. Read our full comment policy here.
Comments Powered by Disqus
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
