For the first time since 1996, the National League has won the All-Star Game. Thanks to a really dumb rule, the NL will now get home field advantage in this year's World Series.
There were four Dodgers who made and participated in this game, so let's take a look at how they performed.
Andre Ethier - Voted in as a starter, Ethier hit seventh and played center field. He got a pretty good amount of playing time, going four innings in center and two more in right. At the plate, he went 1-for-2. Andy Pettitte made him look silly his first at-bat, striking him out in three pitches. With David Wright on second and one out in the fifth, Ethier singled, but it was hit too hard to Josh Hamilton to allow Wright to score. Wright was soon stranded.
He was this close to getting another big at-bat in the seventh, but it didn't happen. With one out, Scott Rolen was on third and Matt Holliday on first. Joe Girardi brought in lefty Matt Thorton to face Ethier. Charlie Manuel countered with Chris Young, who popped up. Understandable given the lefty-righty situation, but Ethier has been so clutch for the last year and a half, I wonder what would have happened.
Hong-Chih Kuo - One of the several last minute additions, Kuo entered the scoreless game in the fifth. Obviously feeling some nerves, it didn't go so well. Evan Longoria walked leading off. Joe Mauer then bounced one weakly near the mound, and Kuo completely sailed the ball off the wall in foul territory. A sac-fly RBI from Robinson Cano put the AL up 1-0.
It could have been worse, though. With Mauer on second, Carl Crawford grounded to shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who easily threw out Mauer at third. Heath Bell came in to get Torii Hunter flying out, so after all of that, only one run scored.
Rafael Furcal - Another addition from last weekend, Raffy had a good night. He only had one at-bat and walked in the seventh. He was involved in the defensive play of the night when Marlon Byrd gunned out David Ortiz for a huge second out in the ninth. It wasn't an overly difficult play, but Raffy did catch the ball on a hop.
Jonathan Broxton - With the NL closer to winning for the first time in about 15 years, it was all up to Broxton to keep the two run lead. Thankfully, he did. Ortiz singled in the first pitch he saw, but thanks to a depleted bench, he had to stay in the game. Adrian Beltre struck out quickly on some nasty fastballs. John Buck was the one who placed the hit just in front of Byrd, leading to the great play at second. Ian Kinsler represented the tying run and put a good swing on it, but flew out to Young in center.
I've been critical of Broxton for fading in the spotlight, especially after giving away the lead in the last game against the Yankees. Going into the game, I thought Manuel would have Bell be the closer. I'm glad I was wrong, because Broxton had to face great talent in getting the save. It was fun to watch.
Overall, three of the four Dodgers really played well. Kuo really didn't do that bad, but in such a close game with little margin for error, his errant throw was magnified even more. I'm just glad that wasn't the focus at the end of the night and the Dodgers played a part in winning this game.
No comments:
Post a Comment