The 9 best moments from a Star-studded Midsummer Classic in Texas

ARLINGTON -- The night started out with the titanic Paul Skenes vs. Aaron Judge matchup of which the baseball world had dreamed, dazzled with a Shohei Ohtani homer under the game’s brightest lights, and heated up with Mason Miller throwing the hardest-tracked pitch in a Midsummer Classic.

But in a tightly contested 94th edition of the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, it was Jarren Duran’s two-run blast in the fifth inning that broke a tie and sent the AL to a 5-3 victory under the bright lights of Globe Life Field, which united baseball fans for several days to partake in a distinctly Texas-flavored series of festivities showcasing the game’s brightest talent.

Here are some of the highlights that stood out most from Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic:

1) Phenom Paul Skenes vs. slugger Aaron Judge

This was the epic matchup the baseball world really wanted to see -- the game’s premier power pitcher and the game’s premier power hitter colliding in arguably the highest-profile matchup imaginable at this Midsummer Classic.

It’s a matchup that needed some help to actually occur, given Judge was hitting fourth in the AL’s starting lineup, but Juan Soto had personally guaranteed on Monday that he’d make it happen -- and that he did, drawing a walk off Skenes after fouling a pitch off Globe Life Field’s roof to set up the matchup of titans.

And it was over in the blink of an eye.

Skenes went right after Judge with his big fastball, firing 99.7 mph middle-in that rode in on Judge’s hands -- and MLB’s home run leader chopped it to third base, giving Alec Bohm an easy third out. That wrapped up a 16-pitch, scoreless inning for the 22-year-old sensation, as Skenes officially became the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo in 1995.

“You’ve got to be [aggressive] with a guy like that who’s throwing up to 100-plus,” Judge said. “It was my job to try to drill something up. It was fun.”

Mark your calendars: The Pirates will finish the regular season at Yankee Stadium from Sept. 27-29, when Judge could get his chance for redemption.

2) Duran demolishes one

We all get by with a little help from our friends.

Jarren Duran may be the American League leader in doubles (27) and triples (10), but it’s the home run power that showed up in a big way in the Midsummer Classic, smashing a center-cut splitter from Hunter Greene an estimated 413 feet to deep right-center to snap a fifth-inning tie and give the AL a 5-3 lead that would stand up.

It was the first big fly by a Red Sox player in a Midsummer Classic since Adrián González in 2011 -- and it helped Duran bail out Red Sox teammate Tanner Houck, who had given up the three-run blast to Shohei Ohtani that opened the scoring in the third inning. It also earned Duran the game's MVP Award, the first Red Sox player to win it since J.D. Drew in 2008.

“That’s the first home run I’ve ever pimped in my life,” Duran said.

3) Sho-time!

After receiving a warm welcome from the capacity crowd at Globe Life Field during introductions, Shohei Ohtani rose to the occasion with the game’s first big blow, a three-run blast off Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck in the top of the third inning that traveled an estimated 400 feet to the right-field bleachers.

• Ohtani's one-of-a-kind suit features adorable images of his dog Decoy

Not only did it make Ohtani the first player to earn a win as a pitcher (2021 in Colorado) and hit a homer in All-Star Games, but it snapped a lengthy drought of Dodgers going deep in the Midsummer Classic, spanning back to a Mike Piazza homer off Charles Nagy in the 1996 game.

“In general, I haven’t really hit well during the All-Star Game, so I’m just relieved that I put a good ball in play,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.

The American League provided an immediate answer with a two-run double by Juan Soto and an RBI single by David Fry in the bottom of the frame, making it the first All-Star inning in which both teams scored three or more runs since the eighth inning of the ’92 contest.

4) Miller flashes filthy stuff

What’s one level above heat? Thunder? Something else? A’s rookie sensation Mason Miller is forcing us to wonder these things.

It took Miller only four pitches to dispatch Shohei Ohtani in the fifth inning with a scarily methodical strikeout -- two fastballs for called strikes at 100.6 mph and 101.8 mph for the first two strikes, followed by a wipeout slider at 89.2 mph that got a flail and miss from the slugger, who had hit a pitch 400 feet for a homer in his previous plate appearance.

And then, Miller actually outdid even that by hurling the hardest tracked pitch in All-Star Game history, a 103.6 mph ball to Trea Turner that rocketed him past Aroldis Chapman (103.4 mph in 2015) to the top of the leaderboard. What can a hitter even do about that?

“Pray,” Turner said.

The 25-year-old threw four pitches at 102 mph or harder in his two-strikeout inning. There had been only eight such pitches ever tracked in an All-Star Game entering Tuesday.

5) Mic'd up Trea flashes leather

The bottom of the second inning proved a prescient time for the FOX television broadcast to have three Philadelphia Phillies on the mic -- and at shortstop, Trea Turner proved that he can multi-task.

When Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sliced a ground ball up the middle with one out, Turner ranged to his left, stabbed at the ball with his glove as he laid out, and made a backhanded flip from the dirt to second baseman Ketel Marte as teammate Bryce Harper hooted and hollered over the live commentary: “Let’s go! Are you kidding me? Let’s go!” he yelled.

Turner was feeling the effects of the play a bit because, it turned out, he’d prioritized flashiness over comfort.

“I need my Little League belt back,” Turner said. “This belt’s too nice. I usually wear Little League belts that are elastic so that when I dive I don’t kill myself. I’m trying to wear a show belt for the boys today.”

6) Clase joins very elite club

As Emmanuel Clase watched Miller set velocity records, he thought back to when he was approaching those velocities himself years ago -- but Clase still hit triple digits eight times in 13 pitches as he closed out the victory to become only the fifth pitcher to record multiple saves in All-Star Games, joining Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley, Mel Harder and Bruce Sutter.

"I feel really, really proud that the manager gave me that confidence, because this is something really important for me in my career, and I know how important this game is,” Clase said.

7) Stand Up to Cancer

An emotional moment that has become a core part of MLB’s national events, the end of the fifth inning brought a collective moment of reflection, remembrance and honor of family and friends as a sold-out Globe Life Field crowd of 39,343 stood along with players, coaches, umpires, broadcasters and staff holding placards with messages or names of loved ones.

8) Going Greene

Two Greenes entered the battle -- both first-round Draft picks, both top prospects who debuted within three months of each other in 2022 -- and only one could emerge victorious. That was the Reds’ Hunter Greene, who induced a flyout to center by the Tigers’ Riley Greene to begin the fifth inning.

Fun fact: They represent two-thirds of all Greenes to ever make an AL/NL All-Star Game, joining Shane Greene (2019).

9) Salvy leads Royal contingent

Salvador Perez led a group of four players representing the Royals while earning the distinction of making his ninth Midsummer Classic, the most among active catchers and the most among any ‘24 All-Star. Only six catchers have made more All-Star teams, and all but one of them (Yadier Molina) are in the Hall of Fame (Ivan Rodriguez, Yogi Berra, Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk).

To make it more special, Perez got to catch teammates Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo -- giving the Royals two full All-Star batteries in the game -- and, as an added bonus, hometown kid and Home Run Derby runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. manned shortstop for those innings, too.