Sports
American League heavy hitters win MLB All-Star Game with Giancarlo Stanton as MVP
New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, born in Los Angeles, returns home as an All-Star and wins the MVP with a home run in the American 3-2 victory over the National League for the ninth consecutive year
July 20, 2022 8:42am
Updated: July 20, 2022 10:32am
There wasn’t a more appropriate place for Giancarlo Stanton's first All-Star home run than the center field seats at Dodger Stadium.
That's where he attended Major League Baseball games as a kid.
It was also the place where his love of baseball became a lifelong passion, and one that helped him win the Ted Williams Award as the Most Valuable Player at Tuesday's All-Star Game in Los Angeles. His home run, combined with another from Byron Buxton and phenomenal pitching was enough to beat the National League team 3-2 in the summer classic.
The New York Yankees' slugger's fourth-inning homer off home pitcher Tony Gonsolin wiped the Nationals' two-run lead. Then Minnesota Twins outfielder Buxton followed with another solo blast. The two home runs led the American League to their ninth straight win in the All-Star Games.
"I can't explain how special this is," said Stanton, who grew up in Los Angeles. "It's hard to find words for this moment. It's really cool. I'm taking it all in."
Back-to-back: STANTON y BUXTON. 😤 ¡PODERÍO ABSOLUTO! 🦾 #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/FXlAsj93eI
— LasMayores (@LasMayores) July 20, 2022
Stanton and Buxton became the first players to bounce the ball consecutively in the stellar game since the Astros Alex Bregman and George Springer in 2018.
Stanton's projected 457-foot blast clocked an exit velocity off the bat of 111.7 mph, the hardest hit in an All-Star Game since Statcast began tracking them in 2015. It was also the second-longest home run, behind only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 468-foot missile last year in Colorado.
¡Gracias Los Ángeles! 🙏 Un #AllStarGame EMOTIVO y MEMORABLE. 🍿⚾💯 pic.twitter.com/K9a3VCoRTC
— LasMayores (@LasMayores) July 20, 2022
The game ended in Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin, who was 11-0 this season, undefeated 2022 record.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw opened for the National League while Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays, opened for the American League and allowed two runs on a home run by St. Louis Cardinals starter Paul Goldschmidt.
No sabemos qué está mejor: el guante con nuestra bandera, o la entrada en la que lanzó y abanicó a 2 contrarios. 🇨🇺 #MLBCuba #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/nK3QlQJ3Ly
— MLB Cuba (@mlbcuba) July 20, 2022
The Latin American pitchers starred for the winning team of the summer classic with Houston Astros' Dominican Framber Valdéz getting the win and Cleveland Rangers' closer Emanuel Clase getting the save. Yankees' Cuban sensation Néstor Cortés pitched a great inning in relief with two strikeouts in his All-Star Game debut.
