The top 12 moments from 92nd All-Star Game
David Adler
@_dadlerThe Midsummer Classic is full of memorable moments every year, and the 92nd in the game's history was no different.
The American League rode a three-run fourth inning to secure a 3-2 comeback win over the National League on Tuesday night in the 2022 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. The AL's win was its ninth straight in the Midsummer Classic and improved its all-time record in the All-Star Game to 47-43.
From booming homers to mic'd up superstars, this All-Star Game had everything. Here are the top 12 moments.
12. Legends take the field: Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols were introduced as All-Stars for the 12th and 11th time, respectively -- Miggy for the American League and Pujols for the National League.
Cabrera, who joined the 3,000-hit club earlier this season, and Pujols, who's in the final season of his 22-year career, were special selections to the All-Star Game. Both got to play in the game, with Pujols flying out to deep left and Cabrera grounding out to short.
11. All-Star tribute to Jackie: MLB and the All-Star host Dodgers paid tribute to Jackie Robinson with a special pregame ceremony, having the Dodgers legend "take the field" using mixed reality technology.
Tuesday was also the 100th birthday of Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow. Rachel was honored with an in-game video tribute. More >
10. Mookie starts the scoring at home: Dodgers star Mookie Betts drove in the first run of the All-Star Game with an RBI single off a 98 mph fastball from Rays ace and AL ERA leader Shane McClanahan. It was Betts' first RBI in an All-Star Game, and his first hit since the 2016 All-Star Game.
9. Ohtani lives up to his word: Just before leading off the All-Star Game, Shohei Ohtani was asked what he was most looking forward to.
"First pitch. Full swing," he said.
Then he lined the very first pitch from Clayton Kershaw into center field for a base hit to start off the Midsummer Classic.
8. Clase seals the AL's win: Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase closed out the AL's win by striking out the side in the ninth inning.
Clase struck out Garrett Cooper on a 99 mph cutter, Kyle Schwarber on a 100 mph cutter and Jake Cronenworth on a 99 mph cutter to end the game.
7. Helsley hits 103: Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley dialed up his fastball to 103 mph twice in the top of the eighth inning, getting a called strike and a foul against MLB batting leader Luis Arraez.
Helsley and Aroldis Chapman are the only pitchers to hit 103 mph in an All-Star Game in the pitch-tracking era, which goes back to 2008. Helsley's eight pitches in triple digits were second most in an All-Star Game behind Chapman's 13 in 2015.
Helsley also struck out Andrew Benintendi with a 101.2 mph fastball, the fourth-fastest All-Star Game strikeout behind three by Chapman. More >
6. Goldy goes deep: The first home run of the 2022 All-Star Game came off the bat of seven-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt, who crushed a 109 mph, 415-foot home run to left field off Shane McClanahan to give the NL a 2-0 lead in the first.
"It was awesome," Goldschmidt said in the dugout after. "I haven't had a home run in the All-Star Game. It was a surreal moment."
5. Big Papi in the house: Red Sox legend David Ortiz took over the AL dugout in the fifth inning to conduct some entertaining rapid-fire interviews with the All-Stars.
Introducing pinch-hitter Miguel Cabrera, he said: "I'm in 'la casa' with my boy Miguel Cabrera. You know I'm gonna see you in Cooperstown a couple of years from now, right?"
"Yeah, see you there," Miggy replied. "Big Papi in the house, baby."
Then Papi went to see AL manager Dusty Baker ¡ with a request: "Hey Dusty ... can you put me in, man? I can go deep for you."
"I'm gonna save you 'til the ninth, just in case we're behind," Baker responded.
Later, talking to Alek Manoah, Big Papi asked how the Blue Jays righty would pitch to him.
"I'm probably coming a little high and tight, get you off the plate, probably just, uh --" Manoah started to answer, before Ortiz interrupted: "Man, I'll take you deep! I'm outta here," and started laughing as he ran off down the dugout. More >
4. Gim¨¦nez's highlight-reel double play: AL second baseman Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez of the Guardians started a slick double play, fielding Manny Machado's hotshot up the middle that kicked high off the mound and making a behind-the-back flip to Tim Anderson at second base.
3. Mic'd up moments: Many of the All-Stars on both teams were mic'd up during the game, which produced more than a few fun moments for the TV viewers. Here were a few of the highlights:
? Manoah dominates, entertains: Toronto ace Alek Manoah dominated on the mound -- and on the mic -- while pitching a scoreless second inning for the AL. Manoah provided plenty of entertainment as he struck out three NL hitters -- William Contreras, Joc Pederson and Ronald Acu?a Jr.
"Three punchies! Let's go!" Manoah yelled as he ran off the mound after striking out Acu?a to end the inning. More >
? Nasty Nestor pitches to Trevino: Two of the Yankees' surprise first-time All-Stars, left-hander Nestor Cortes and catcher Jose Trevino, got to take the field as batterymates in the sixth inning, with Cortes pitching to Trevino for the AL.
Both players were mic'd up, so you could hear Trevino ask Cortes if he wanted to keep the ball when Cortes got his first All-Star Game strikeout against Austin Riley, and Cortes respond "Yeah" with a shrug before Trevino took the ball out of play.
And Cortes and Trevino called pitches to each other over the air, giving the TV audience a treat. Known for his funky deliveries and wide variety of arm angles, Cortes even announced when he was going to drop down and throw a sidearm fastball to Garrett Cooper. After that, the broadcasters asked Trevino if he knows when Cortes is about to throw from a different arm angle during a real game, and Trevino replied with a coy "Maybe." Cortes struck out Cooper to end the inning on the next pitch. More >
? "Juliooooo! Juliooooo!": When Liam Hendriks came in to get the final out of the eighth inning -- a Travis d'Arnaud flyout to center fielder Julio Rodr¨ªguez -- he had to yell out to the rookie to save the ball for him.
"Don't throw the ball away!" Hendriks called out to center field. "Juliooooo! Juliooooo! Give me the ball! Give me the ball!"
Rodr¨ªguez, laughing, faked throwing the ball into the center-field stands, then pretended to not hear what Hendriks was yelling at him. Finally, he threw the ball in to the White Sox closer to keep. More >
2. Kershaw starts his first All-Star Game -- in L.A.: Kershaw, one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, had never started an All-Star Game until this year. He finally got to do it in front of his home crowd at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw became the 13th pitcher to start an All-Star Game in his home park (the last was Max Scherzer for the Nationals in 2018) and the second Dodgers pitcher to start one in L.A., joining Don Drysdale (1959). More >
The Dodgers' longtime ace pitched a scoreless first inning at Chavez Ravine. After allowing Ohtani's leadoff single, he promptly picked the two-way star off first base, then struck out MLB home run leader Aaron Judge on a nasty slider. He got 2021 All-Star Game MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground out to finish the frame.
1. Stanton, Buxton go back-to-back: Down 2-0 in the fourth inning, the AL turned that into a 3-2 lead thanks to game-changing back-to-back home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and Byron Buxton.
Stanton hit a Stantonian game-tying blast off the Dodgers' own Tony Gonsolin -- 111.7 mph off the bat and 457 feet to left-center -- and Buxton followed with a 107.7 mph, 425-foot home run down the left-field line to give the AL the lead for good.
Stanton's homer was the hardest hit recorded in an All-Star Game since Statcast started tracking in 2015, and the second-longest homer behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 468-footer last year. More >
Stanton was named the Chevrolet All-Star Game MVP. He joins Mariano Rivera (2013) and Derek Jeter (2000) as the only Yankees players to be named All-Star Game MVP. More >