On This Date in Sports July 10, 2007

In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com

The American League’s dominance in the All-Star Game continues as they score a 5-4 win over the National League at AT&T Park in San Francisco. The game’s turning point is in the fifth inning when Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners becomes the first player in All-Star history to hit a inside the park home run. Ichiro who had three hits would become the first MVP from Japan. It is the tenth straight win for the American League, extending their unbeaten streak to 11 games with the 2002 tie thrown in.

The 2007 All-Star Game in San Francisco was the fifth played under the new rules in which the game’s winner determined home field in the World Series. The new rule was put in place following the 2002 tie, hoping to bring interest back to the mid-summer classic which had waned over the years. The new rule would do nothing to change the All-Star Game, as the American League continued to have their way, while television ratings continued to disappoint.

The game started well for the National League as Jose Reyes of the New York Mets led the game off with a hit off AL Starter Dan Haren, representing the Oakland Athletics. Reyes quickly stole second, and came around to score on a base hit by Ken Griffey Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds. The game would remain 1-0 in the favor of the National League until the fifth inning. Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles led the inning off with a walk against San Diego Padres righty Chris Young. After getting New York Yankees Catcher Jorge Posada to fly out, Ichiro who already had two singles came up and hit the ball off the wall in right field. The ball struck a banner covering part of an unused scoreboard and rolled away from Ken Griffey Jr. who was playing right field. By the time Griffey got to the ball, Ichiro was on his way to circling the bases for the first Inside the Park Home Run in the history of the All-Star Game.  The AL added to its lead, with a conventional home run by Carl Crawford in the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Griffey had a second RBI as the Mets Carlos Beltran scored on a sac fly, but the rest of the game would be an uphill climb for the senior circuit. The American League would get a two-run home run in the eighth inning from Victor Martinez of the Cleveland Indians who drove pitch off Mets closer Billy Wagner over the wall. In the ninth inning, the NL would make a two-out rally as Alfonso Soriano of the Chicago Cubs homered off J.J. Putz of the Seattle Mariners to cut the lead to one run. The NL would load the bases off Francisco Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Angels who came on to save the game, after Putz was an unable to record the final out. K-Rod finally ended the game when Aaron Rowand of the Philadelphia Phillies flied out to right field.

With the win, the American League continue to cut into the National League’s all-time All-Star Game advantage, improving to 36-40-2.