(Arlington) Boston Red Sox player Jarren Duran gave the American League a 5-3 victory over the National League with a two-run homer in the fifth inning of the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Duran was named the most valuable player of the annual Major League Baseball Classic and the American triumphed for the 10th time.e times in the last 11 editions.
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes pitched a no-hitter in the first inning for the Nationals, hitting a two-run ball over 100 mph, and Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer in the third to give his team a 3-0 lead.
Juan Soto of the New York Yankees responded with a two-run double and scored on a single by David Fry of the Cleveland Guardians to tie the game in the third inning.
Oakland Athletics right-hander Mason Miller earned the win after throwing a 103.8 mph (165.8 km/h) pitch, a record since the statistic was first recorded in the 2008 All-Star Game. Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase struck out two batters in the ninth inning to earn the save.
Duran is the fifth Red Sox player to be named All-Star Game MVP and the first since J.D. Drew in 2008. The others are Pedro Martinez (1999), Roger Clemens (1986) and Carl Yastrzemski (1970).
“It’s a surreal moment, I’m just grateful to be here,” said Duran, who was one of 39 players making his first All-Star appearance.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays was hitless in his two plate appearances, but he made some nice defensive plays at first base for the Americans.
Skenes, 22, who has played in just 11 games so far in major league baseball, became the player with the fewest games in history to make an All-Star team.
Ohtani, who hit 29 home runs this season with the Dodgers, catapulted Tanner Houck’s home run more than 400 feet into right field. It came after the Red Sox right-hander allowed singles to the first two batters of the inning: Jurickson Profar and Ketel Marte.
“I didn’t hit it really well in the All-Star Game, so I’m just relieved to get the ball in play,” Ohtani said. “I’m just trying to be as natural as I was in the regular season.”
The 30-year-old Japanese became the first Dodgers player to hit a home run in the All-Star Game since catcher Mike Piazza in 1996. It was his fourth annual classic in major league baseball, his first in the National League.
The American is 48-44-2 in All-Star games and had won nine straight before the Nationals’ 3-2 victory last year in Seattle.
AL starter Corbin Burnes arrived in Texas Tuesday morning after spending time with his newborn twin girls. The Baltimore Orioles right-hander gave up a walk and a hit but didn’t allow a run.
Play resumes Friday in Major League Baseball with a 14-game schedule, with the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Detroit Tigers for a three-game series.