LOS ANGELES — The spectacle before the main event Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium was touching and fun.
There was Denzel Washington, dressed in a No. 42 Dodgers jersey, standing behind home plate paying tribute to Jackie Robinson. There was Mookie Betts standing in front of the mound leading his fellow All-Stars and the packed house wishing a happy birthday to Jackie’s widow. Rachel Robinson turned 100 on Tuesday. There was Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela back on the mound throwing out the ceremonial first pitch with the crowd roaring.
All good stuff.
The best was yet to come, and it would come courtesy of one of the six Yankees on hand, the one who grew up in Los Angeles watching dozens of Dodger games from the left-field bleachers.
Giancarlo Stanton, the American League’s starting left fielder, hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the fourth inning of his club’s 3-2 win that might have measured on the Richter scale in earthquake country.
This was a tremendous blast off Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin that touched down deep into the left-center fields. It was measured 457 feet, looked an easy 500 and earned Stanton MVP honors in a 3-2 victory that was the AL’s ninth in a row over the NL.
Stanton’s homer tied the game 2-2, then Twins outfielder Byron Buxton followed with a homer to put the AL on top, and it stayed that way.
“I can’t really explain how special this is,” Stanton said. “It’s hard to put into words that is reality right now. It’s really cool.”
A few of his Yankees teammates fared well, too, including first-time All-Stars, lefty starter Nestor Cortes and closer Clay Holmes.
Cortes worked a scoreless sixth inning, pitching around a walk and a hit batter while striking out two. Holmes got the first two outs of the eighth while allowing a one-out single that was sandwiched between two strikeouts.
“I got a little nervous,” Yankees All-Star right fielder Aaron Judge said. “He hit a batter. Walk. I was disappointed. I thought he was going to pull a couple more shimmies and a couple more pauses and quick pitches, but I guess he’s saving those for the season.
Catcher Jose Trevino, another first-time All-Star, grounded a single to right field in the first of his two at-bats, which led to some teasing.
:That was a special moment,” Judge said. “He was smiling from ear to ear when he was running to first base. We kind of got on him. He should have been on second base there. He should have in scoring position, but he was soaking up the moment.”
“I got a little nervous,” Judge said. “He hit a batter. Walk. I was disappointed. I thought he was going to pull a couple more shimmies and a couple more pauses and quick pitches, but I guess he’s saving those for the season.
Judge, the AL starter in right field, played three innings and struck out in his only two at-bats. He was thrilled for Stanton, but not amazed. Judge leads the majors with 33 homers, but Stanton has 24, including a few very long ones.
“I’ve been seeing that all year,” Judge said. “That’s nothing new. He told me he was going to get one. He didn’t get it (striking out) in the first at-bat, but he made up for it on the second.”
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Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected].