Nolan Arenado was the last position player on either All-Star roster to take his turn at the plate in Sunday’s 22nd Annual DTBL All-Star Game at his team’s, the Naturals, home park of Hobbs Field. A late defensive replacement for the American Division All-Stars, he finally got his chance to swing the bat with a man on and one out in the bottom of the 9th. Three pitches later, he launched a Trevor Rosenthal delivery deep into the seats in left-center field for a two run, walk-off home run to give the American Division a 2-1 victory over their National Division counterparts.
For the most part, this game was a carbon copy of the last few DTBL All-Star Games. It featured the game’s best pitchers at the top of their powers, striking out hitters left and right. For the third consecutive year, at least 26 batters struck out in the game, this year being the highest total of them all at 30. I don’t have great records of the games prior to 2005, but since then, this was the most strikeouts in an All-Star Game. American pitchers compiled 16 K’s while the National squad had 14 of their own.
There were scoring opportunities in this game, but most of them were not converted into runs. Dallas Keuchel got the start on the mound for the American All-Stars and pitched two scoreless, hitless innings. On the other side, Max Scherzer also completed two frames without allowing a run. Probably the most impressive pitching performance was put up by the National’s second pitcher, Chris Archer. He was on such a role that he was allowed to throw three innings, striking out seven total, including six consecutive batters. Through six innings, neither team had touched home plate.
The top of the seventh brought the game’s first run. With two outs and nobody on for the National Division, two consecutive left handed hitters delivered hits against the tough lefty reliever Zach Britton. Jason Kipnis reached on a single and scored on a clutch two out double by his Cougars teammate Charlie Blackmon. The National All-Stars had a chance to build on that 1-0 lead in the 8th following a leadoff double by Albert Pujols. But Glen Perkins retired the next three hitters in order, including a pair of strikeouts. The game remained 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Aroldis Chapman got the nod to start the final half inning, but walked the leadoff man, Paul Goldschmidt. After retiring Ryan Braun on a flyout, Chapman was relieved and Trevor Rosenthal came in to attempt to lock it down. That he did not. The first man he faced was the aforementioned Nolan Arenado, who promptly hit a two run home run to send the American Division home with a 2-1 victory.
As I mentioned, I don’t have great records of the All-Star Games pre-2005, so I am unable to confirm if we’ve had a walk-off hit before. I am fairly certain this is the first walk-off home run though. Despite only getting that one at bat, Arenado was the unanimous choice as the game’s Most Valuable Player. Zack Greinke was credited with the win thanks to his perfect ninth inning on the mound. Rosenthal took the loss. Although there is no such thing, the obvious winner of the Least Valuable Player would have been Miguel Cabrera, who took the golden sombrero striking out in all four of his plate appearances. Fortunately for him, his Naturals and American teammate, Arenado, saved the day. The only other American hitter with a significant contribution was Starling Marte, who had a game high three hits (no other player on either team had more than one) and stole a base.
This game ended a streak of four consecutive losses for the home team in the DTBL All-Star Game. But it continued the streak of games dominated by the pitchers. Five of the past six games have featured six or fewer total runs scored. In many ways, this is very representative of the league itself though, where pitching numbers continue to improve year-to-year. The early years of the DTBL All-Star Game featured some absurd shootouts, so I guess what comes around goes around. Click here to view the full box score from this year’s game.
Congrats to Nick on managing his squad to a victory and thanks to both Nick and Dom for taking the time to play out the game. Although the All-Star Game is not a particularly important part of a fantasy baseball season, it is something I look forward to doing every summer, so thanks for at least humoring me and I hope you enjoyed it as well. On to the rest of the season!