Results tagged ‘ mlb all-star game ’
All-Star Ellsbury delivers game-winning hit for Red Sox.
By Brian Rabuffetti
Jacoby Ellsbury recorded the first walk-off hit of his career to lift the Boston Red Sox to a win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, 3-2. The Red Sox maintained a one game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East and the Indians dropped to three games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central race.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jason Varitek singled and was pinch ran for by Jarrod Saltalamcchia, who advanced to second on a bloop single by Josh Reddick. Ellsbury lined the 1-0 pitch into center field. He reached first and turned to watch Saltalamacchia slide in home, before Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana could handle the throw and make a tag.
The winning RBI was Ellbury’s 15th since the All-Star break. Ellsbury, who made his first All-Star Game appearance this year, has lead the team in RBI, home runs and runs scored since returning from the break. His 19 post all-star runs scored tops all of baseball and have moved him into second place on the American League leader list. His six home runs lead all outfielders in the league since the break and moved him up to third place on the Red Sox with 17 homers this year.
Red Sox All-Stars: Their road to the game
The first-place Boston Red Sox had five players selected to the 82nd MLB All-Star game, which will be held on July 12, 2011 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. Four of them are available to play in the game. Two have been chosen to start.
Adrian Gonzalez was voted in by the fans to make his first All-Star game appearance on the American League side as a Red Sox. He played the last three All-Star games on the National League team. Gonzalez leads all of baseball with 77 RBI and leads the American league with 128 hits, 29 doubles and a .354 batting average. He ranks third in OPS and can hit for power as he showed in the home run derby and with 17 homers this year. Gonzalez has performed well enough to be the front runner for the AL MVP Award.
David Ortiz was voted by fans to start as the designated hitter. This is the first year a DH was eligible to be voted in for a National League hosted game. Ortiz, who is set become a free agent after this season, will make this seventh All-Star appearance. The first half of 2011 has been Ortiz’s best in recent years. He avoided his usually early season slump by hitting .267 in April and .342 in May. For the season Ortiz is batting .304 with a .965 OPS and a team-high 19 home runs. His overall success is due in part to his ability to hit left-handed pitchers well above his career average.
