Major League Baseball does one thing that most other sports leagues in the United States do not do. In the MLB, the National League and the American League are essentially two separate entities. Even the popular interleague baseball that takes place during the season is relatively new. The American League has the designated hitter and the National League does not. The National League has sixteen teams and the American League has fourteen. Traditionally, the two leagues collide just twice a year.
Before the inclusion of interleague ball, the AL and the NL would only meet for the World Series and the All Star Game. For most of MLB history the All Star Game was just an exhibition, but now the winning league gets home field advantage for their representative in the World Series.
This year, the game took place in Phoenix, Arizona, the home of the National League West’s Arizona Diamondbacks.
The American League came into the game with momentum after the Home Run Derby was won by New York Yankee Robinson Cano on Monday Night.
The game started slow with no runs being scored until the fourth inning. The American League scored first in the top of the fourth. It would be their only lead of the game.
In the bottom of the fourth, Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers responded to the home run off Boston Red Sox member Adrian Gonzalez. The only difference was that Fielder’s home run drove in three runs and went on to be the winning hit of the game.
Andre Ethier of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pablo Sandoval of the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants added to the lead later on.
Tyler Clippard of the Washington Nationals was credited with the win and Brian Wilson of the champion Giants got the save. CJ Wilson of the Texas Rangers, who won the American League Championship last year, got the loss in the decision.
With Prince Fielder providing the fireworks, the National League bested the American League by a final score of 5-1.
Now, with the All Star game behind them, every team in the league is gearing for the final stretch of the season. With October on the horizon, some teams are going into full throttle, others are calling it a season already, and others are in a flux. Right now, the only thing for sure about the World Series is that the National League will have home field advantage thanks to Prince Fielder.
You can watch highlights of the game here.
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