Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers hit a solo homerun in the seventh inning Tuesday night, to help lead the American League All Stars to their seventh straight All Star Game win with a 4-3 victory over the National League in the 90th Midsummer Classic at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
Seven A.L. pitchers pitched a scoreless inning as the hosts built a 4-1 lead, and then held off a N.L. rally. In a scoreless game in the second, former Cleveland Indian and now Houston Astro Michael Brantley opened the scoring with an RBI double to center off Clayton Kershaw from the Dodgers. Jorge Palanco (Minnesota) hit an infield single in the fifth to score another one to make it 2-0. Charlie Blackmon (Colorado) cut the lead to a run with a solo homer to center off Liam Hendricks (Oakland) in the top of the sixth. Xander Bogaerts (Boston) grounded into a double play allowing a runner to cross the plate in the seventh, followed by the solo shot to right field by Gallo on the first pitch he saw from Will Smith (San Francisco) to extend the lead to 4-1. The ball had an estimated exit velocity of 112 miles per hour. The N.L. had a great chance with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth. Pete Alonso (NY Mets) did deliver a two out two run single, but two runners were left on when Mike Moustakas (Milwaukee) popped out in foul territory to the catcher against Brad Hand (Cleveland). Aroldis Chapman (NY Yankees) struck out the side in the ninth to end it.
The Red Sox All Stars went a combined 0-3 between JD Martinez, who started at DH, and Bogaerts. Mookie Betts didn’t get a chance for a plate appearance. Masahiro Tanaka was credited with the win, while Kershaw took the loss. Shane Bieber from the Indians won the MVP by striking out the side in the fifth inning. No players had more than one hit, and the A.L. outhit the N.L. 8-5.
