The National League clinched their third straight All-Star game on Tuesday night by defeating the American League 8-0 at Kauffman Stadium. It was the first midsummer classic shutout since 1996.
The NL took a big lead in the first inning by putting a five-spot on the board against Justin Verlander. The reigning AL Cy Young and MVP was hammered by the Senior Circuit, and didn't help himself when he issued back-to-back walks to Carlos Beltran and Buster Posey. The Giants' Pablo Sandoval then ripped a bases-clearing triple to right to push the lead to 4-0.
In the top of the fourth, the NL added three more with another Giant, Melky Cabrera, doing most of the damage. Cabrera took a Matt Harrison pitch over the left field wall and into the bullpen to make it 8-0. The rout was on and the NL pitching staff simply cruised from there.
While the AL was crushed, the two Rays representatives were impressive. David Price pitched a quick 1-2-3 inning in the third. He retired the side on just seven pitches. Fernando Rodney then came on in the top of the ninth, as planned, and started throwing smoke. He got Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, and Bryan LaHair to all ground out in an easy inning.
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