On This Date in Sports July 16, 2013: Citi Stars
The New York Mets host the All-Star Game for the first time in nearly 50 years as baseball's best players gather on a steamy night at Citi Field. Matt Harvey of the Mets makes the start for the National League against Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers, who starts for the American League. Harvey pitches two innings, allowing one hit, with three strikeouts. The NL manages just three hits against ten AL pitchers, as the American League wins 3-0. Mariano Rivera, in his final All-Star appearances, is given the MVP, pitching a scoreless eighth after taking the field, with both dugouts giving him a standing ovation, as he takes an empty field with the rest of the AL players letting him get the star attention.
In the first All-Star Game in Queens since 1964, it was a glimpse of the future as the Mets tried to present a positive image as they continued to emerge from the clouds of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. It was the first true spotlight on Citi Field in its fifth season as the Mets had their young ace Matt Harvey on the mound. Two days earlier, the future was displayed as Noah Syndergaard faced Rafael Montero in the Future's Game. Meanwhile, Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics won the home run derby.
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On a night that felt like you were sitting in a steambath, Matt Harvey and David Wright received thunderous ovations as they made the start for the National League. Mets legend Tom Seaver threw out the game's first pitch in one of his final appearances at Citi Field. Harvey got off to a tough start as Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels had a leadoff double, while Robinson Cano of the Yankees was hit by a pitch. Cano was forced to exit the game, while Harvey did allow a run to score, striking out two of the next three hitters. Max Scherzer meanwhile pitched a perfect inning for the AL. Matt Harvey pitched a perfect second, as runs would be scarce.
In the fourth inning, the American League broke the scoreless tie as Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers greeted Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks with a double and scored on a sac-fly by Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. The National League, meanwhile, did not get a base runner until Carlos Beltran of the St. Louis Cardinals had a one-out double in the fourth. The AL added a second run in the fifth, as Adam Jones doubled and later scored on a grounder by his Baltimore Orioles teammate Adam Jones. Down 2-0, base runners we rare for the National League; Michael Cuddyer of the Colorado Rockies had a leadoff walk in the sixth but did not advance as Grant Balfour of the Athletics retired the next three hitters. In the seventh, David Wright gave fans a jolt with a one-out single, as three American League pitchers combined to keep the NL off the scoreboard.
The American League added a third run in the eighth, as Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals scored on a double by Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians. In his final season, Mariano Rivera pitched the bottom of the eighth, as both teams remained in the dugout, allowing the future Hall of Famer to stand alone on the field. Rivera retired all three batters he faced and was named MVP. In the ninth inning, the NL got a two-out double from Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, but one batter later, Joe Nathan of the Texas Rangers ended the game by getting Pedro Alvarez to pop up to second base.
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Mariano Rivera was chosen MVP as a tribute to his career, as the game was rather lackluster, with the NL managing just three base runners, while Neil Diamond performed "Sweet Caroline" live in tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.