National League snaps its losing streak in All-Star game

Final, NL 3, AL 1

With Dodgers’ closer Broxton warming up, Angel Stadium starts playing the “rally monkey” song on the big video screen in left field.

We’ll see.

Boston slugger David Ortiz hits Broxton’s first pitch into right field for a single. Up steps Ortiz teammate Adrian Beltre, the potential tying run. But Broxton blows him away with a high, 98-mph fastball.

One out.

Now it’s John Buck of Toronto. The count goes 3-0, then 3-2. Then Buck hits a weak fly to right field that goes for a single when Byrd has to pull up, but because Ortiz wasn’t sure it would be caught, he gets a late start running and his forced out at second base.

Two out.

Ian Kinsler then flies out to center it’s over, 3-1.

The National League wins its first All-Star game in 14 years.

Top of ninth inning, NL 3, AL 1

Jose Valverde of the Tigers takes the mound in the ninth inning and proceeds to strike out Michael Bourn of the Houston Astros, Arizona’s Chris Young and the Cubs’ Marlon Byrd.

And the Dodgers’ closer, Jonathan Broxton, is called in to save the NL’s first win in 14 years.

End of eighth inning, NL 3, AL 1

San Francisco Giants’ reliever Brian Wilson (wearing some funky orange shoes) comes in to pitch for the NL. By the way, we haven’t seen Giants ace Tim Lincecum as yet.

The Rangers’ Andrus grounds out. Konerko of the White Sox grounds out. Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays pops out.

Who needs Lincecum? The NL needs three more outs for the win. Do we hear Jonathan Broxton’s name?

Top of eighth inning, NL 3, AL 1

AL Manager Joe Girardi brings in right-handed pitcher Rafael Soriano of the of the Rays to start the eighth inning.

The Padres’ Gonzalez flies out, and then Votto flies out.

Cincinnati’s Rolen then flies out to left, and it’s a 1-2-3 inning.

Don’t look now, but the National League is on the verge of its first All-Star victory in 14 years.

End of seventh inning, NL 3, AL 1

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright starts the inning and the big right-hander gets the Yankees’ Nick Swisher to strike out.

John Buck of the Toronto Blue Jays then hits a deep fly that center fielder Matt Holliday tries to run down. But even though the ball hits the center of Holliday’s glove while he’s on the dead run, it pops out and Buck reaches second base.

Wainwright then walks Ian Kinsler of the Rangers. Vernon Wells of the Blue Jays grounds to Furcal at shortstop and he gets the force at second base. So now there’s runners at first and third with two out for the AL, and the Angels’ Torii Hunter at bat.

The crowd rises for their hometown hero, but Hunter strikes out swinging -- and the NL still leads 3-1.

Top of the seventh inning, NL 3, AL 1

Trying to protect a 1-0 lead, AL Manager Joe Girardi of the Yankees brings in Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes to start the seventh inning, and he promptly gets Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds to ground out.

But Votto teammate Scott Rolen singled to center field. Outfielder Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals followed with a single up the middle and Rolen slid safely into third base. Now the NL is in business, with runners at first and third and one out.

Girardi lifts Hughes and brings in left-hander Matt Thornton of the White Sox to face right-handed batter Chris Young of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Young pops out to first base.

With two out, Marlon Byrd of the Chicago Cubs fouls off several pitches before walking to load the bases.

McCann, the Braves’ catcher, then doubles into the right-field corner to score all three runners and put the NL in front, 3-1.

The Oakland A’s Andrew Bailey comes in to pitch, and the Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal walks. Brandon Phillips of the Reds strikes out.

End of sixth inning, AL 1, NL 0

Roy Halladay of the Phillies takes over as the NL pitcher (and the Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal takes over at shortstop).

Jeter singles and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers comes in as a pinch-runner. As Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox strikes out, Andrus is thrown out trying to steal second base. Andrus had the base stolen, but came off the bag in his slide and was tagged out.

With two out and the bases empty again, the Rangers’ Hamilton singles to right field. That’s it for Halladay, as his manager Manuel pulls him in favor of right-hander Matt Capps of the Washington Nationals. Jose Bautista pinch-runs for Hamilton.

Up comes David Ortiz, the Red Sox’ “Big Papi” who won the Home Run Derby on Monday. But this time he takes a called third strike from Capps to end the inning.

Oh, and the announced attendance at the sold-out game is 45,408.

Top of sixth inning, AL 1, NL 0

Left-hander Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox takes over as the AL’s pitcher, and Florida’s Ramirez hits him a come-backer for the first out.

Prado then popped out and the Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to second base. An easy inning for Lester.

End of fifth inning, AL 1, NL 0

Dodgers left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo, a late addition to the All-Star roster, takes over the NL pitching duties and promptly walks the leadoff hitter, the Rays’ Longoria.

Mauer then grounds weakly to Kuo, who nearly throws the ball into the 10th row of the stands. Now he’s got runners at second and third with nobody out, the AL’s first big threat.

Cano then flies deep to left, enough for Longoria to tag up, score and give the American League a 1-0 lead.

With Mauer on second base, the Rays’ Crawford grounds to the shorstop Ramirez, who gets Mauer sliding into third base for the second out.

With the field now completely covered in shade, NL Manager Charlie Manuel of the Phillies lifts Kuo and brings in right-hander Heath Bell of the Padres to face Torii Hunter. First, though, Crawford steals second base. Hunter, the Angels’ center fielder, flies to right field to end the inning.

Incidentally, the last four All-Star games, and five of the last seven, have been decided by one run. Just sayin’.

Top of fifth inning, AL 0, NL 0

So far the 81st All-Star game is a pitchers’ duel, with only two hits apiece for both teams.

Detroit’s Justin Verlander takes over on the mound for the AL, and immediately gives up a hit to the Mets’ Wright. With Braun at the plate, Wright tries to steal second base and makes it safely when Mauer’s throw sails into center field.

Braun, who made the nice catch in the fourth inning, strikes out swinging for the NL’s first out. The Dodgers’ Ethier then lines a single to right field that is hit so hard Wright has to stop at third base. Now Verlander is in trouble with runners at first and third and only one out.

Braun teammate Corey Hart then strikes out on a called check swing for out No. 2, and left-handed-hitting catcher Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves makes his first appearance in the game. On one pitch, McCann swings so hard the bat flies out of his hands and nearly hits Hanley Ramirez standing in the on-deck circle. His bat retrieved, McCann goes to a full count against Verlander before flying out deep to right field.

Still no score in the game.

End of fourth inning, AL 0, NL 0

Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres takes over for Pujols at first base and Johnson goes back to work on the mound.

Cabrera leads off by ground out to third base and Rangers left-handed slugger Josh Hamilton of the Rangers, a .346 hitter, hits a sinking, curving line drive into left field and the Brewers’ Braun makes a gorgeous, diving catching for the second out.

Guerrero then hits a soft line drive to first base and the game moves into the fifth inning.

Top of fourth inning, AL 0, NL 0

Cliff Lee, who recently moved to the Texas Rangers, takes the mound for the American League, and the Angels’ Torii Hunter goes into center field -- drawing an ovation from the Angel Stadium faithful.

Prado leads off leads off by grounding out to Jeter at shortstop, and Pujols strikes out.

Ryan Howard bats for the second time and also grounds out, and so far the pitchers are definitely in control.

End of third inning, AL 0, NL 0

After Josh Johnson of the Florida Marlins becomes the new NL new pitcher, Carl Crawford -- the 2009 All-Star game’s most valuable player -- leads off by lining out to third base.

Ichiro Suzuki steps in for the second time and strikes out against Johnson. No surprise there, as Johnson’s earned-run average is a baseball’s best 1.70. With 75% of the field now covered in shade as the sun starts to set, Jeter also fans on a called third strike.

Top of third inning, AL 0, NL 0

Making his first All-Star appearance, Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier strikes out against Andy Pettitte of the Yankees, the new AL pitcher. So does Corey Hart of the Brewers.

Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals singles to center, but is forced at second to end the inning when Hanley Ramirez grounds out to short.

End of second inning, AL 0, NL 0

The Texas Rangers’ Vladimir Guerrero, the former Angel, gets another big cheer when he steps to the plate against Jimenez, but Jimenez quickly strikes him out on a nasty breaking ball.

The Rays’ Evan Longoria then steps in and Jimenez throws the first two pitches near Longoria’s chin. Undaunted, Longoria then doubles to left field for the AL’s second hit of the game.

After Joe Mauer, the Minnesota Twins catcher and the All-Star game’s top vote getter, lines out to center field, Robinson Cano of the Yankees hits a weak grounder to second base and Longoria’s double goes for naught.

Top of the second inning, AL 0, NL 0

Price struck out Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, the National League’s designated hitter, to start the second inning.

David Wright of the New York Mets then hit a sharp grounder that second baseman Cano tried to handle but bobbled instead, giving Wright a single.

But the threat went nowhere, as Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit a broken-bat grounder that was turned into a double play.

End of first inning, AL 0, NL 0

In the bottom of the first inning, AL leadoff hitter Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners popped out against NL starter Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies, there was a nice touch when the recorded voice of legendary New York Yankees public-address announcer Bob Sheppard -- who died a few days ago -- was used to announce that Derek Jeter was coming up.

Jeter walked and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers singled, but Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers then grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Top of first inning, AL 0, NL 0

With the temperature at 85 degrees, the 81st All-Star game got under way with the National League going out 1-2-3 against American League starter David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays.

After NL leadoff hitter Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins grounded out, Martin Prado of the Atlanta Braves grounded sharply to the right side but New York Yankees’ second baseman Robinson Cano made a nice play to throw him out. Price’s fastball was arriving at 97 mph.

Slugger Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals then hit a line drive to the gap in right field but right fielder Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners made a running catch to to end the inning.

5:43 update

The 81st All-Star game was about to get under way at Angel Stadium in Anaheim after player introductions that, not surprisingly, included rousing cheers for hometown players Jered Weaver and Torii Hunter of the Angels, along with Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, a coach on the American League squad.

But the fans also gave a standing ovation to longtime Angel Vladimir Guerrero, now with the Texas Rangers and the starting designated hitter for the AL. Dodgers All-Stars, including Andre Ethier and Jonathan Broxton, also drew loud applause.

There also was a moment of silence for New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who died earlier Tuesday at 80. A few minutes earlier, though, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and other Yankees on the All-Star team were booed by the partisan and sold-out Angels crowd.

4:50 update

Will it finally end at 13?

As players for the American and National leagues loosened up for the All-Star game Tuesday on a warm, cloudless late-afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, the question was whether the NL would finally snap its 13-year winless streak in the 81st version of the Midsummer Classic.

Pundits believed the NL had a good chance this year due to strong pitching, beginning with 15-game winner Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies, who was starting against the Tampa Bay Rays’ David Price (12-4) for the AL.

For many in baseball, the game was tinged with sadness following the death earlier in the day of George Steinbrenner, longtime owner of the world champion New York Yankees.

“It’s tough, because he’s more than just an owner to me,” Yankees captain Derek Jeter, the game’s starting shortstop, told reporters before he took the field. “He’s a friend of mine. He will be deeply missed.”

As the crowed filed in, Jeter and other AL players were the first to warm up and hit in the batting cage, with the Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki, the AL’s leadoff hitter, the first to take his swings. Then both teams strolled to deep center field, where they stood on a makeshift platform, faced Angel Stadium’s signature outfield waterfall and posed for team pictures.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier and other NL players then warmed up and took their practice swings, and Commissioner Bud Selig arrived about 30 minutes before the first pitch to take his seat.

The NL hasn’t won an All-Star Game since 1996; in that stretch they’ve lost 12 times to the AL and the leagues were left with a 7-7 tie after 11 innings in Milwaukee in 2002 when they ran out of pitchers. That led to the still-controversial decision in 2003 to start awarding home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the All-Star game that season.

Overall, however, the NL holds a 40-38-2 edge over the AL since the first All-Star game was played in Chicago during the Depression in 1933.

--Jim Peltz