The National League defeats the American League in the MLB All-Star Game for the first time since 2012.
The last 10 years of the MLB All-Star game can be defined as pure dominance by the American League. The National League hasn't won the Midsummer Classic since 2012 and the AL wanted to keep it that.
The AL struck first in the game with a solo home run by former Cleveland infielder Yandy Diaz who's putting together an MVP-caliber season with the Tampa Bay Rays.
This gave the home team an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
Miami Marlins' Luis Arraez tied up the game in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly. Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays gave the AL the lead again two innings later with a sac fly of his own.
That brings us to the bottom of the eighth inning with Elias Diaz, catcher for the Colorado Rockies, at the plate. One may think he had some jitters with it being his first All-Star Game.
Nope.
The 32-year-old ripped a home run to deep center field to give the NL a 3-2 lead. Diaz would also go on to win the game's MVP because of this homer. It gave the NL a 75.3 percent chance to win the game, a plus 35.7 percent boost.
The AL had a chance to win it, or at least tie the game, in the bottom of the ninth. Kyle Tucker and Julio Rodrgieuz both walked to give the team a runner-in-scoring position.
Jose Ramirez went to the plate with two outs and the AL's last hope. Unfortunately, the Cleveland Guardians' third baseman struck out which ended the game.
The 3-2 victory for the National League ends a rough drought. It's their first win in almost 10 years and it hasn't been pretty all the way.
Coming into the night, the AL had outscored the NL 40-22 in the last nine years. The NL averaged just 2.4 runs a game, a team batting average of .195, and the offense was just 5-52 in RISP.
Whether you're a fan of the Guardians, the American League, the National League, or just a baseball fan in general, tonight's game showed us that the sport is in great hands for many years to come!
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Photo Credit © Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
