All-Star Game MVP Carlos Ruiz
Just like the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, there was little drama in the DTBL All-Star Game on Thursday evening. In the 19th annual mid-summer game, the American Division cruised to a 12-1 victory over their National Division counterparts. The game even started eerily similar to the MLB game with Justin Verlander getting torched in the top of the first. The National All-Stars didn’t record their first hit until the fifth inning. Gators catcher Carlos Ruiz was named the MVP, going 3 for 3 with a home run and four runs knocked in. The game was played at the Demidome, home of Dom’s Demigods.
The game got off to an ominous start for the National Division with Verlander hitting Andrew McCutchen with the first pitch of the game. McCutchen came around to score on a base hit by Jose Bautista. David Wright followed with another RBI single. Later in the inning, Ruiz got his big night started with a two run single to give the American team a quick 4-0 lead in the first.
The American starting pitcher, Matt Cain, was far more effective. He pitched two scoreless, hitless innings and was followed by David Price who pitched two innings without giving up a hit either. Stephen Strasburg was the second pitcher into the game for the National squad, but he was only slightly more effective than Verlander. He gave up a two run home run to Miguel Cabrera in the top of the second, which increased the American lead to six. They were on cruise control from there, but were definitely not done scoring.
In the top of the fifth, Cole Hamels came in to pitch for the National Division and promptly gave up extra base hits to the first three hitters he faced. Doubles by Mark Trumbo and Ian Kinsler proceeded a two run home run by Ruiz. Half way through the game, it was 9-0 American with the National All-Stars still looking for their first hit. That hit finally came in the bottom of the fifth when Buster Posey hit a solo home run to end the no-hitter and shutout.
The American Division still had more runs in them. They scored three more in the top of the seventh to push the score to 12-1. The big hit of the inning was a bases clearing three run double by Ryan Braun. Neither team scored the rest of the way. Craig Kimbrel finished things off in the ninth with a pair of strike outs, including one of A.J. Pierzynski to end mercifully end the game.
There were plenty of offensive stars for the American Division, but Ruiz was the obvious choice for MVP. Ruiz and Braun both had three hits and at least three RBIs (four for Ruiz). Cabrera, Bautista and Kinsler each had multiple hits as well. All told, the American All-Stars recorded 12 runs on 16 hits. Meanwhile, the National team only recorded four hits, with Posey’s home run being the only hit by a National starter. Jason Kipnis had a pair of hits off the bench.
Cain and Price were the pitching stars of the game. Although the OOTP box score credits Price with the win, that distinction actually belongs to Cain since we don’t have a minimum inning requirement for earning a victory in an All-Star Game. Verlander took the loss. The defensive star of the game was probably McCutchen. He had six putouts in six innings in center field. Interestingly, he made catches to end five of the six innings he played.
As usual, the game was played using the Out of the Park Baseball simulation game. For the second straight year, there was a live webcast of the game on LiveStream. Check out the link below if you would like to watch the archived video. Congrats to Jay for managing his team to an easy win and thanks for taking the time to take part in the game. Here’s to an exciting second half!