MLB All-Star Game: Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes shine, but Jarren Duran delivers victory for the American League

ARLINGTON, Texas – You never know what an All-Star game and week will bring as baseball’s best showdown in the annual summer showcase. And this year’s All-Star Game had a storyline for everyone. For the traditionalist, the game’s greatest star was the fact that it was a star. To the casual fan, the 37 rookie All-Stars provided a glimpse into the future of baseball.

But regardless of which side you’re on, the 94th Midsummer Classic, which the American League won 5-3, delivered exactly what an all-star game should.

Ohtani scores first career All-Star home run

Shohei Ohtani could be Thanos because the two-time MVP is inevitable. There is something special about a player who seems to have the talent to rise to the occasion. And the fact that he is the best player in the world makes him much better.

In a game created for stars to shine, baseball’s biggest star shone brightest when Ohtani hit a mammoth three-run shot to open the scoring on Tuesday.

After drawing a walk in his first at-bat against Orioles ace Corbin Burnes, Ohtani clearly wanted to swing at bat in his second at-bat, this time against Boston’s Tanner Houck. Houck fell behind 2-0 before hitting a splitter into the heart of the plate, and the $700 million man didn’t miss.

The four-time All-Star destroyed a 400-foot blast no doubt into the right field seats, leaving the crowd of more than 40,000 fans at Globe Life Field stunned, almost as if they couldn’t believe Ohtani had once again risen to the occasion. Yankees right fielder Juan Soto didn’t even move.

“In general, I didn’t hit well during the All-Star Game, so I’m relieved I put a good ball in play,” Ohtani said afterward. “I was really focused on hitting regularly, like I was in a regular season [game].”

It was the first All-Star Game home run of Ohtani’s career, and with it, he became the first Dodger to home run in an All-Star Game since Mike Piazza in 1996.

There’s a lot of discussion in baseball about how to better market the game’s stars, and that conversation goes far beyond the All-Star Game. But if there’s anyone who doesn’t need help in that department, it’s Ohtani, who has single-handedly helped market the game since it arrived from Japan in 2017.

Before Tuesday’s proceedings, the Dodgers superstar received arguably the biggest ovation from the sold-out crowd outside of Rangers All-Stars Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Kirby Yates and decade-old hometown boy Bobby Witt Jr. , Ohtani showed that there is nothing he cannot do.

“I tried to make the most of the three hours or so I spent on the same team as him, because that’s probably only going to happen once a year,” NL starter Paul Skenes said after the game with a smile. “I don’t know any hitter I’ve faced that’s better than him in my career, so being able to share a dugout with him was a surreal moment.”

Skenes throws scoreless first inning in All-Star debut

In a week packed with events, celebrities and the biggest names baseball has to offer, no moment in Arlington was more anticipated than Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes facing off against the best hitters the American League has to offer. And with the stage set for greatness and the world watching, Skenes and his electric right-hand man took center stage.

There was no better way for Skenes to start the game than by facing the best hitter in baseball, Steven Kwan, early on. Kwan entered his first All-Star Game hitting an MLB-best .352 for the Cleveland Guardians, but bounced to second base on four pitches. Skenes got the next hitter, Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles, to strike out.

Then fans got the moment they most wanted to see. After a seven-pitch walk to Juan Soto, Skenes, perhaps the most electric starter in the game right now, faced Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, the best hitter in the world. In the battle of power over power, Skenes got the better of the 2022 AL MVP when the judge relied on a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

“From the first pitch, just being out there. I don’t think I passed out when I was there, but I was pretty close,” Skenes said afterward. “It was cool to be on that mound. Just being able to share that with my family and having them here and just being able to experience that.”

Skenes, who topped out at 160.1 mph in his scoreless inning, has been the talk of the baseball world since arriving in the big leagues just two months ago. And that enthusiasm and expectation has been backed by an unrealistic start to his career, even for the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft.

After going 6-0 with an outrageous 1.90 ERA in his first 11 big league starts, Skenes became just the fifth rookie pitcher in MLB history to start an All-Star Game and the first since Hideo Nomo in 1995. Given such a phenomenal start to his career, it will be interesting to see what the second half holds for Pittsburgh’s rising star.

Duran wins All-Star MVP after game-winning home run

While the National League got the attention in the first three innings, the American League received its own heroics – and the last word – from another All-Star rookie. Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran was electric for Boston in the first half of the season, and when the AL needed a jolt on Tuesday, he delivered.

In his first All-Star at-bat after coming in as Judge’s defensive replacement, Duran launched a game-winning two-run home run off Reds right-hander Hunter Greene, giving the AL a 5–3 lead in the fifth. Duran’s home run was the first by a Red Sox player in the All-Star Game since Adrian Gonzalez hit one in 2011.

The center fielder etched his name into the history books by winning the All-Star Game MVP award – an award named after Red Sox legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Duran, 27, knows Boston history well, and you could tell after the game that his reverence for Williams and the Red Sox representation isn’t just lip service. It really means something to him.

“It’s an honor,” Duran said. “Who else would I want to try to follow in the footsteps of other than a guy like that, who was not only a great baseball player, but a great human being? This guy was amazing and I’m honored to be able to receive this award.”