The 2007 All Star Game is in the books and for the tenth consecutive time, the American League has come out on top. And the unbeaten streak is eleven games. The National League had their run in the 1970s and 1980s but through the late 1990s and all of the 21st century, it’s been all American League. Not that the games haven’t been close though.
The National League got on the board first with Dan Haren on the mound for the American League. In the first inning, Jose Reyes led off with a single and he stole second base. Barry Bonds flew out to right and then Carlos Beltran struck out swinging before Ken Griffey, Jr. came through with a big two out clutch RBI single. The scored was 1-0 National League and unfortunately, it’d be the only time the National League would have the lead.
Neither team scored until the American League came up in the fifth inning. With Chris Young on the mound for the National League, Brian Roberts drew a lead off walk and then Jorge Posada flew out to centerfield. Then Ichiro Suzuki came up to bat and made history. He belted a deep fly ball to right field that Ken Griffey, Jr. played to the centerfield side. Unfortunately for Griffey, the ball bounced toward right field and Ichiro circled the bases and easily scored on a two run in the park homer to make it 2-1 American League.
Carl Crawford added a run in the top of the sixth on a solo homerun off of Francisco Cordero and the National League answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth. With Justin Verlander on the mound, Carlos Beltran led off with a triple and then Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a fly ball deep enough to right field to score Beltran to make it 3-2.
The score would remain 3-2 until the eighth inning when the American League would score the rest of their runs. With Billy Wagner on the mound, Mike Lowell led off with a single before Justin Morneau popped out third base and Grady Sizemore struck out. Then Victor Martinez belted a two run shot to left field to make it 5-2 American League.
The National League did provide some drama in the bottom of the ninth inning. J.J. Putz took the mound and he struck out Matt Holliday for the first out. Brian McCann then popped out to short and the National League was down to their final out before the National League hitters put together a massive rally. Dmitri Young kept the inning going with a single and then Alfonso Soriano made it a one run game with a two run homer to right field. J.J. Hardy drew a walk and then Francisco Rodriguez relieved Putz and walked Derek Lee and Orlando Hudson to load the bases up. Finally, K-Rod got Aaron Rowand to fly out right fielder to get out of his own jam.
Ichiro was picked as the Most Valuable Player. He finished the game three for three with the two run in the park homer. Jose Reyes led the way for the National League and he went three for four with a run. Josh Beckett ended up with the win with two shutout innings while Chris Young took the loss after he gave up the Ichiro homerun.
