Los Angeles — The All-Star Break was slower than usual this summer and deep enough to see off October in the distance.After the American League, when the top players of the game were scattered in their home city late Tuesday night 3-2 victory In the National League, the best teams in the majors could guess the way.
At 64-28, the Yankees have the best record in the majors. The next best bet belongs to the Dodgers, 60-30. After the first All-Star game at Dodger Stadium since 1980, this year could finally be the year of another relic of the early 80’s, the Yankees-Dodgers World Series.
“Have I ever thought about it? Absolutely,” he said. The Yankees Giancarlo Stanton won the game’s most valuable player award with a two-run, 457-foot home run from the Dodgers Tony Gonsolin.
“Sure, it’s been on paper that way for years, so now both sides have to take care of the business and get it done. That’s cool, after all. But if so, then You’re not just playing and having fun here. I’ll try to win. “
Stanton did both on Tuesday and won the stadium just 12 miles from his alma mater, Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. His home run was deep in the bleachers in the center left field, scoring four innings, and Minnesota Twins Byron Buxton shot a go-a-head shot into the corner of the left field.
After that, no one scored, and 10 AL pitchers at a time kept NL to one hit. Close to the Cleveland Guardians, Emanuel Klaas finished the power parade with three strikeouts at 10 pitches, all cutters traveling at 97-100 mph.
“I don’t think I’ve seen it before,” said AL Manager Houston’s Dusty Baker. “We put gas in the bullpen and came out of it, and they came out of it with gas. You thought the game would hit a home run. With these guys. It ’s an equally big showman. ”
For Stanton, 32, the show was a personal touch. Growing up, he went to 15 or so Dodgers games each year and was hooked on stars such as Adalberto Mondesie, Mike Piazza and Hideo Nomo. When the league’s top sluggers, such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, came to town, Stanton felt pulled by Chavez Ravin.
“Even with two at bats, get out of the car so far, get a ticket from the street and see what they can do,” he said.
If he gets there in time for batting practice, Stanton and his father, Mike, put themselves in one corner of the left fielder breaker to maximize the coverage of the incoming treasure. prize. His all-star teammates were able to see how it meant for Stanton to start on Tuesday with a left fielder.
“He just talked a little about it, and he was like,” I was sitting a few rows from that place. ” When he was small, “Baxton said, starting from the center. “It’s one of the things that wasn’t happy for him and he can only do what he did.”
Aaron Judge of the Yankees, who started with a right fielder, said Stanton had told him he would go deeper on Tuesday during his flight to Los Angeles. The two former Homelanderby champions performed a friendly duel here in batting practice, with Stanton winning.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said the judge. “That’s why he was pointing at the bargain and laughing a little.”
The judge attacked the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw and Joe Musgrove in the San Diego Padres twice on Tuesday. The 34-year-old Carshaw finally launched the All-Star game after three Cy Young Awards, an MVP, and 192 career wins. He joked about protecting the “old man’s back” and looked around his home park from the mound before the first pitch, but said he would never do so.
He said the car show was more impressive than he expected. He was absent for a month due to an injury and was a little shy to get off to a start, but he’s entering another Sterling season.
“Sandy had a great first half, and he deserves it,” Kershaw said, referring to the Miami Marlins Sandy Alcantara, who defeated Stanton and Baxton in the second inning. “I’m glad he was able to pitch and I’m glad he did a great job. Everyone knows he’s the best pitcher on the planet right now.”
The car show with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander was the best of his generation, and two years ago he won his first championship ring. The Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros, although he may have had it earlier. The Astros were later found to have stolen the enemy’s signature illegally.
Fans here haven’t forgotten, and some Astros All-Stars avoided their anger: second baseman José Altuve declined the invitation, and so did George Springer, a former Houston outfielder in Toronto. (Slightly injured because neither attended.) Even Orbit, a green prankster running around the Astros stadium, was at home. All other teams with mascots sent the character to the All-Star game.
He didn’t control the 2017 Astros and was actually a two-time All-Star for the Dodgers, but fans still booed Baker. His first All-Star appearance in Los Angeles was in 1981, the year the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in the six-game World Series. This is the 11th match between teams.
The Dodgers and the Yankees met in the World Series at least once every 10 years from the 1940s to the 1980s. Sharing the stage in October added a special dignity to the event. Since then, older rivals have reached the playoffs 11 times in the same season, but never reconnected at the end.
The Dodgers-Yankees World Series will be a dream for Fox without the need for a live mic on the pitcher, as on Tuesday when the Yankees Nester Cortez spoke directly to the booth and aired.
(The Blue Jays’ Alexandra also, with the advice of analyst John Smoltz, tried a backfoot sinker against the Mets’ Jeff McNeil. Hit McNeil’s shoes.. “It was a forefoot slider,” Manoa said. “My bad.”)
Of course, the rest of the league has no reason to worry about the potential rating jackpot of the network. Many great teams have fallen due to the randomness of the postseason. Before the Yankees consider a trip back here, they may have to overcome their much more familiar rivals.
The Astros, who have eliminated the Yankees from the three playoffs since 2015, have the third best record in baseball at 59-32. They will defeat the Yankees in three of the five games of the season and will face them again shortly after the All-Star Break.
If Stanton hits a home run, it would be against Baker’s team.
“His look, how to make it, he should have been there for a very long time,” Baker said. “I’m sorry I have to play him in the doubleheader on Thursday.”
James Wagner Report that contributed.
