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For the second year in a row, a Detroit Tigers pitcher won the All-Star Game. David Price pitched a scoreless fourth inning for the American League, and picked up the win after the AL offense scored two runs in the top of the fifth. The AL stretched their lead later in the game, and went on to beat the National League, 6-3.
Price struck out two of the three batters he faced, including potential NL MVP frontrunner Bryce Harper. It took him just 11 pitches to set down Harper, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, and San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey in order. Despite the economical pitch count, Price was relieved by his former teammate, Tampa Bay Rays righthander Chris Archer.
The AL jumped out to a quick lead when Mike Trout led off the game with an opposite field home run off NL starter Zack Greinke. The Los Angeles Dodgers righthander is currently working on a 35 2/3 inning scoreless streak in regular season play, and leads baseball with a 1.39 ERA in 123 1/3 innings. Trout was named the game's Most Valuable Player, his second consecutive All-Star Game MVP honor. The NL tied the game in the bottom of the second when former Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta singled to right, scoring Goldschmidt.
After Price pitched the fourth, the AL offense came alive in the fifth. With Trout and Albert Pujols on base, former Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder hit an RBI single to left-center off Dodgers lefthander Clayton Kershaw. In the next at-bat, Kansas City Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain doubled, scoring Pujols.
The AL would strike again in the top of the seventh following an Andrew McCutchen home run in the sixth, which cut the lead in half. After Trout walked, he was replaced by pinch runner Brock Holt. The Boston Red Sox utility wizard stole second base, then scored on a Manny Machado double to deep right-center. After a Mark Teixeira groundout, Fielder hit a sacrifice fly, his second RBI of the night. Brian Dozier homered in the top of the eighth to cap off the scoring for the AL.
Both Jose Iglesias and J.D. Martinez appeared in the game for the American League, but they did not contribute to the run scoring. Iglesias went 0-for-2, while Martinez grounded to short on the first (and only) pitch he saw on the night. Both Tigers made defensive plays, including a slick backhanded play deep in the hole by Iglesias in the eighth inning.
ROARS:
David Price: His battle with Bryce Harper was entertaining, but his matchup with Paul Goldschmidt was just unfair. Price was his usual self on the mound, and it was a bit disappointing that he only pitched one inning.
Prince Fielder: The former Tiger had two RBIs for the AL and led the team with .188 WPA.
Jose Iglesias' glove: The play Iglesias made against Yasmani Grandal was nothing new for Tigers fans, but the rest of the world got to see the magic that Iglesias creates everyday in the Tigers infield.
HISSES:
Tigers bats: Not an impressive performance for Iglesias or J.D. at the plate tonight. Thankfully, neither of them had to face Aroldis Chapman.
Manny Machado: We had a chance at another Iglesias highlight earlier in the game, but Machado cut off a slow roller headed straight at Iglesias and made a throw on the run for the out. It was a nice play, but it wasn't an Iglesias play.
Harold Reynolds: If you were on the internet tonight, chances are you or someone you know pointed out one of the bazillion things Reynolds said wrong on tonight's broadcast. If you missed them, here are the lowlights.
Can't wait for Harold Reynolds to explain the difference between an intentional walk and ground rule double. #sonowyouknow
— Tiger Townie (@tigertownie) July 15, 2015
WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:
Source: FanGraphs