The 91st edition of the MLB All-Star game is officially in the books. American League bats struck early and often, providing enough firepower to defeat the National League 5-2.
Blue Jays slugger and the game’s MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr. supplied the first spark with a 468-foot solo bomb in the third inning. The A.L. would only use that momentum in their favor to gain a 4-0 lead before Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto would respond with a home run. Though the N.L. threatened with the bases loaded in the sixth and again in the eighth, they could only push one other run across.
For the White Sox, three of their four players made appearances throughout the game – giving solid performances along the way. In case you missed any of the action, we recapped our players’ outings below!
Lance Lynn: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (19 pitches – 12 strikes)
Lance Lynn was the first Sox player to make it into the Midsummer Classic, replacing Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani prior to the second inning. Lynn easily retired Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman (ground out) and Cincinnati’s Nick Castellanos (pop out) on seven pitches to begin the frame. He then fell behind to the Reds’ Jesse Winkler, his third batter faced, and walked him for the N.L.’s first base runner of the game. No harm was done as the White Sox’ bulldog got the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto to strike out swinging to end the inning.
Tim Anderson: No plate appearance
After spending the majority of the night on the bench, Tim Anderson made his way into the game in the bottom of the 8th inning. He served as a defensive replacement for Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who came in during the bottom of the fifth. TA didn’t see anything come his way, and ended up just missing out on a plate appearance in the 9th. If there’s any sort of silver lining, the White Sox shortstop will get his chances in the Midsummer Classic over the next several seasons if he keeps up his impressive play.
Liam Hendriks: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save (17 pitches – 9 strikes)
Rays manager Kevin Cash turned to Liam Hendriks to close things out in the ninth and it was entertaining as always. Milwaukee’s Omar Narvaez, the former Chicago backstop, started off the inning with an infield single but was thrown out at second on a wild pitch almost immediately after. Hendriks promptly responded by striking out Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor on five pitches and asked for the ball to be authenticated in a cool moment. Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies poked one to right for a double, before Hendriks came back to get Nationals shortstop Trea Turner to ground out en route to the save.
We’d also be remiss not to note that Hendriks was mic’d up during his outing, but was having technical difficulties with his earpiece. Despite not being able to interact with the broadcast booth, we still heard his colorful vocabulary of “goddammit” and “f*ck this”, which is always fun for the viewers at home.
Carlos Rodon: Did not pitch
Unfortunately, only one White Sox starting pitcher was ever going to see action in this game and Lynn got the honors. Regardless, Rodon’s story to this point still deserves all of the recognition. The guy’s missed large portions of three seasons with injuries, was non-tendered this past offseason, came back on a one-year deal, and has been having having a career year since – highlighted by a no-hitter nonetheless.
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