American League rallies for 11-inning win in Simulated All-Star Game
WASHINGTON -- Limited to no runs and just three hits through the first six innings, the American League used its bench to come back from a 5-0 deficit and win Paste BN Sports' Simulated All-Star Game 6-5 in 11 innings.
The winning rally began with a pair of Houston Astros when Alex Bregman led off with a single off National League closer Kenley Jansen, moved to third on a single by teammate George Springer and sprinted home on an infield dribbler by Mitch Moreland. Bregman just beat a strong throw by Javier Baez, sending the AL team streaming onto the field in celebration.
Box score: American League 6, National League 5 (11 innings)
The NL, as the visiting team despite the game being played at Nationals Park, jumped out to an early lead against AL starter Chris Sale when Javier Baez doubled to lead off the game and came around to score on a single by Nolan Arenado.
Charlie Blackmon's two-run triple in the third extended the lead and Bryce Harper brought the hometown crowd to its feet with a mammoth 449-foot home run that scored Baez in front of him and gave the NL a comfortable five-run lead.
Thanks to strong outings by Max Scherzer, Zack Greinke and Jacob deGrom, the AL offense was held to just three hits and no runs through the first six innings.
However, the comeback began in the seventh against Aaron Nola, when a succession of pinch-hitters all delivered.
After a walk to Michael Brantley, Manny Machado, Alex Bregman and Francisco Lindor hit back-to-back-to-back doubles to cut the deficit to 5-3. Nelson Cruz delivered a pinch-hit RB single to plate the AL's fourth run.
The AL tied the game in the eighth as Mookie Betts doubled, stole third and scored on Machado's sacrifice fly.
Game summary: Play-by-play recap
Houston's Charlie Morton picked up the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Jansen took the loss.
Although the NL's Javier Baez was the biggest star on offense, going 4-for-6 and scoring two runs, Bregman took home MVP honors for his two hits, an RBI and two runs scored -- including the game-winner.
What to expect in the (real) All-Star Game
The whole point of this annual exercise isn't to predict which team will win the game. It's more of an attempt to highlight the relative strengths and weaknesses of each side -- and show how they could potentially impact the way the game unfolds on the field.
Some observations:
-- The American League has a potentially dominating pitching staff with Sale, Luis Severino and Gerrit Cole. And that doesn't even include Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber, who were chosen for the team but weren't on the roster.
However, the NL managed to get out to an early lead thanks to Nolan Arenado, who hit .420 against left-handed pitchers last season. NL manager Dave Roberts even said during Monday's press conference that he chose Paul Goldschmidt as his DH (as did we) to get another right-handed bat at the top of the lineup.
-- Not that it matters much in an All-Star Game, but the NL has a major defensive advantage, especially on the infield with Arenado, Brandon Crawford, Baez and Freddie Freeman. Their excellent range will make it difficult for the AL to hit anything between them. The AL's infield defense, meanwhile, is only so-so.
-- When the game gets into the late innings, the AL has a distinct advantage with the pinch-hitters it can send up to counter the NL's trio of left-handed short relievers: Josh Hader, Brad Hand and Felipe Vazquez.
That means Nelson Cruz, who traditionally crushes lefties the way Arenado does, will be a late-inning weapon -- as he was in the AL's big four-run rally in the seventh. AL reserves Alex Bregman and George Springer -- plus left-handed hitting Shin-Soo Choo -- also had on-base percentages over .400 against lefties last season.
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Paste BN Sports simulation tournament
Another annual tradition is the opportunity we give Paste BN Sports readers to participate in an online tournament made up of 64 of the greatest teams in baseball history.
Even if you've never played simulation baseball before, it's easy to learn. And you can get a free one-month subscription to Dynasty League Baseball to get familiar with how the game works (and keep playing after you're hooked).
The 2018 tourney will get underway Thursday, July 19 at 8 p.m. ET.
To sign up:
-- Go to DynastyLeagueBaseball.com.
-- If you're a new user, click on the button for a free 2-day trial.
-- Create your user name and password, then under code USA2 for a free month of access.
-- On the main menu, click on Tournaments and find "USA Today Greatest Teams Tournament."
-- Click to sign up and pick your team.