Hoffman the Closer Can’t Keep Score Close

San Diego’s Trevor Hoffman may some day go down as one of the greatest closers in history, but he won’t be remembered for his All-Star game performance Tuesday.

Hoffman, who recently became the 17th pitcher to earn 250 saves, couldn’t keep the NL close enough as he gave up three runs in the ninth inning and watched a 3-2 deficit grow to 6-2.

Hoffman did strike out Jorge Posada and Fred McGriff to close out the inning, but it must have stung a little more when his teammates rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth that would have tied the score had Hoffman been his usual self.

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Highlight Reel: Hopefully, Ken Griffey Jr. wasn’t watching when St. Louis’ Jim Edmonds tracked down Mike Bordick’s third-inning drive to center. In typical Edmonds fashion, he made an over-the-shoulder grab look routine.

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Winning Number: Thirteen. The number of players who have homered during an All-Star game in their home park. Atlanta’s Chipper Jones joined the list after his third-inning, opposite-field blast to left. Hank Aaron did it as a Brave at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1972.

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Wrong Number: Thirty-three. The number of pitches the Dodgers’ Kevin Brown struggled through during his second-inning stint. The NL got out of it cheaply enough, giving up only one run when Brown walked Carl Everett with the bases loaded.

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Not in the Box Score: The four standing ovations Atlanta’s Andres Galarraga received at different points during the game. The 39-year-old first baseman missed last season while undergoing cancer treatments.

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First-Timers: The seven all-star rookie position players for the NL went a combined one for 10, with the only hit by Atlanta’s Andruw Jones, a fifth-inning single that drove in the Dodgers’ Gary Sheffield with the second run.

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Old Hands: Tom Glavine, who may be building toward a Hall of Fame induction, showed why he still is one of the best left-handers around. The eight-time all-star retired Everett, Ivan Rodriguez and Jermaine Dye, hardly breaking a sweat on a muggy night.

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Quotebook: “I was pretty pleased to throw eight pitches and get the game over from my vantage point so I could now be a fan and watch the game.”

--Arizona’s Randy Johnson, on his first-inning effort.