"He is an artist with the bat," NL manager Tony La Russa said of Suzuki, who set a major-league record with 262 hits in 2004. With the win, the AL improved to 10-0-1 since suffering a 6-0 setback at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium in 1996. The victory also guaranteed the junior circuit home-field advantage in this year's World Series, which it has won seven times in the past 11 seasons.
"We are tired of losing always," Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. "We just want to win one, and put all of this to rest." Suzuki, an all-star in each of his seven seasons with Seattle, won the Ted Williams Award as the game's most valuable player.
"It's one that I'll never forget," Suzuki said through an interpreter. "The past six years, I never had an all-star [game] that I really thought I gave it my all, or was able to give it my all. Suzuki's historic homer came in the top of the fifth inning off Chris Young of the San Diego Padres, smacking off the wall in right field and eluding 10-time Gold Glover Ken Griffey Jr.
of the Cincinnati Reds. "I thought I hit it out of here," said Suzuki, who is currently negotiating a contract extension with the Mariners reportedly worth $100 million US over five years. "I thought it was going to go over the fence.
When it didn't, I was bummed out." "I tried to make a good throw to the cutoff man and hoped that he [Suzuki] would fall down," Griffey said. Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays homered in the sixth for the AL, and Victor Martinez of the Cleveland Indians hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth.
Alfonso Soriano of the Cubs clubbed a two-run homer for the NL in the ninth. Griffey, whose next homer will move him past Frank Robinson (586) into fifth place on the all-time list, plated the other two runs for the NL, which won a record 11 straight all-star games from 1972-1982. "Nobody wants to lose," Griffey said.
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes had three hits and scored once in a losing cause. Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox tossed two scoreless innings and was credited with the win, while Young absorbed the loss. Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez survived a nervous ninth inning to earn the save, issuing two walks to load the bases before retiring Aaron Rowand of the Philadelphia Phillies on a flyout to right field for the final out.
"I didn't enjoy it a bit," AL manager Jim Leyland said. Lots of first-timers Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima was the lone rookie all-star, but one of 18 players enjoying their first all-star experience. Among the first-time participants were Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.
C., and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, a Toronto native who grew up in Montreal. Morneau was hitless in two at-bats, while Martin went 0-3 with a strikeout.
"It was cool, exciting, a lot of buildup," Morneau said. "But it was a good time." "That was awesome, man," Martin said.
Outfielder Alex Rios represented the Toronto Blue Jays for the second straight season, and served as a defensive replacement. "I didn't think I was going to get in the game," he said. "It was a good experience, the whole thing was good.
" New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, the leading vote-getter, not to mention the major-league leader in homers (30) and RBIs (86), singled in three at-bats for the AL. Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez of the Detroit Tigers went 1-for-3 in his record 12th start at catcher, eclipsing Yogi Berra's mark of 11. But Albert Pujols failed to see action for the NL, even though La Russa is his everyday manager with the St.
"He does whatever he wants," Pujols said. "If I wasn't expecting to play, I wouldn't have come up here." "If he wants to get upset, he can get upset," La Russa said.
"Whatever he wants to do, he can do. That wasn't the most important thing tonight." A touching pre-game tribute celebrated the career of 76-year-old Willie Mays, a 24-time all-star and the most complete player of his generation.
"He is the one that a lot of guys look up to, especially guys like me," Griffey said. "He was just a great, great player." Mays threw out the ceremonial pitch to Reyes, posed briefly for pictures wearing his No.
24 jersey, and tossed baseballs into the crowd as he circled the ballpark in a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. "That gave me chills, man," Martin said. "All the guys clapping behind him and stuff.
"He is probably the most gifted player that ever lived. It was just beautiful." Mays patrolled centre field for the Giants in New York and San Francisco from 1951 to 1972 before closing out his career with 135 games for the Mets.
Nicknamed the Say Hey Kid, he averaged .302 lifetime with 3,283 hits, 660 HRs, 1,903 RBIs, 2,062 runs and 338 stolen bases in 2,992 MLB games. He was named NL rookie of the year in 1951 and won 12 Gold Glove Awards with the Giants.
"This is a great honour," Mays said. "There have been so many great all-star games. "I think the Giants really went all out … I was glad to be someone picked to be the representative of San Francisco.
" Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, 42, became the oldest player ever to start an all-star game when he took the field for the NL. Bonds, whose godfather is Mays, set the single-season record of 73 homers in 2001 and needs four homers to equal Hank Aaron's career mark of 755, but remains a controversial figure because he is suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs as a pro. Even so, he received a 42-second standing ovation from the San Francisco faithful.
"It was fabulous, it was just great," said Bonds, who popped out to shallow right and flied out to the warning track in left. "There's too many emotions to be able to explain it. All I can do is say, 'Thank you.
'" NL starter Jake Peavy of the Padres (9-3, 2.19 ERA) surrendered nothing more than a leadoff single to Suzuki in one inning of work. Peavy was the third San Diego pitcher to start, joining LaMarr Hoyt (1985) and Randy Jones (1976).
AL starter Dan Haren of the Oakland Athletics (10-3, 2.30 ERA) pitched two innings, permitting one run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Haren was the sixth Oakland hurler to start in an all-star game, following Mark Mulder (2004), Bob Welch (1990), Dave Stewart (1989), Vida Blue (1971, 1975) and the late Jim (Catfish) Hunter (1973).
"It was just an unbelievable experience," he said. The NL took a 1-0 lead off Haren in the bottom of the first inning as Reyes singled, stole second and scored on Griffey's RBI single up the middle. Griffey preserved the margin in the fourth inning by throwing out Alex Rodriguez, who was trying to score from second base on a single to right by Ivan Rodriguez.
"What I thought [was] just come up and make a nice throw," Griffey said. "I knew he was going to try to score — just throw it through the cutoff and I happened to get him." The AL went ahead 2-1 in the fifth inning when Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles drew a leadoff walk from Young and, one out later, scored on Suzuki's inside-the-park homer to right.
Crawford hammered a solo homer to right off Brewers reliever Francisco Cordero to make it 3-1 in the sixth, but the NL struck back in the bottom of the inning as Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran tripled off Justin Verlander of the Tigers and scored on a sacrifice fly to right from Griffey. The AL pulled away in the eighth inning as Mike Lowell singled and Martinez lined a pinch-hit, two-run homer to left off Mets reliever Billy Wagner. However, the NL closed the gap to 5-4 in the ninth inning off Mariners reliever J.
J. Putz, who conceded a pinch-hit single to Dmitri Young of the Washington Nationals and a two-run homer to right by Soriano, his third in all-star competition. "I don't think we dominated tonight," Leyland said.
San Francisco last hosted the all-star game at Candlestick Park in 1984, when Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos was chosen as the most valuable player after homering off Dave Stieb of the Blue Jays in a 3-1 victory for the NL. "I think the city of San Francisco hosted the all-star game right," Bonds said. "It did a good job.
" Next year's MLB all-star game will be played at Yankee Stadium in New York. "He is an artist with the bat," NL manager Tony La Russa said of Suzuki, who set a major-league record with 262 hits in 2004.
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