A DAY OF SPECIAL K'S; LED BY MARTINEZ, PITCHERS SHINE BRIGHTLY IN AL VICTORY : AL 4, NL 1.Byline: Ben Walker Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. On a night when history filled every crooked corner of Fenway Park • • [ , Pedro Martinez left his own mark on the mound. Moments after a tearful Ted Williams threw out the first ball, Martinez pitched himself into the All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games record book Tuesday night by striking out the first three hitters. He added a fourth straight, Mark McGwire Mixing a blazing fastball, darting curve and tantalizing tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. changeup, Martinez fanned five in two innings, leading the American League American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). over the Nationals 4-1 for its third straight win. With Hall of Fame pitchers Bob Feller
Hubbell was born in Carthage, Missouri. - had ever done. ``I think it makes it a little more special, being here in Boston,'' Martinez said after winning the MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. award. ``Representing the decade, the last one of the century. Being there with all those players around us, I never, never expected it.'' Martinez fanned Barry Larkin, Larry Walker and Sammy Sosa to start the game. The Boston ace, already halfway to the magic 30-win mark at the break, kept up the streak by striking out McGwire to begin the second inning. After Matt Williams reached on an error by second baseman Roberto Alomar, Martinez got Jeff Bagwell on a 3-2 curve. And when Williams was caught stealing on the play, Martinez walked off to a standing ovation, the hometown hero finished after 28 memorable pitches. ``After seeing the guys in BP and in the home-run contest, I knew I had to get my pitches where I wanted or else I was going to get hurt,'' he said. Martinez tied an AL record with his five strikeouts and became the first AL starter to win an All-Star Game in his own park. The teams combined for a record 22 strikeouts, including 12 by AL pitchers, to break the mark of 21 in 1984. It came on a night when the greatest living players in baseball had come together for the final All-Star Game of the 1900s. Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were among the many honored as part of an all-century team in a moving pregame tribute. As the sport's past met its present and future, the biggest ovation was left for Boston's own Splendid Splinter. Williams waved his cap to the standing crowd of 34,187 as a golf cart drove him around the park and to the mound. Though the Green Monster was never a factor - no one came close to hitting the famed left-field wall - the AL got enough offensive support from Cleveland's quartet of starters in cutting its deficit to 40-29-1. ``Last game of the century. Boston. Fenway Park. A lot of nostalgia,'' AL manager Joe Torre said. ``The weather cooperated. It was great.'' Philadelphia's Curt Schilling took the loss. ``How do I follow that?'' he said of Martinez's performance. The NL got seven hits off the AL staff of Martinez, David Cone, Mike Mussina, Jose Rosado, Roberto Hernandez, Texas rookie Jeff Zimmerman and his Rangers teammate John Wetteland, who pitched the ninth for a save. Kenny Lofton led off the AL first with an infield hit, Indians teammate Manny Manny may refer to: In nobility:
abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in single. ``You'd almost think it's a regular-season game because that's happened a lot this year,'' Thome said. Baltimore's Cal Ripken, a 17-time All-Star, followed Thome's hit with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. After the NL scored against Cone in the third on a double by Jeromy Burnitz and a single by Larkin, the AL added two runs in the fourth off St. Louis 14-game winner Kent Bottenfield. Thome walked, Ripken was hit by a pitch and Rafael Palmeiro, starting in place of injured DH Jose Canseco, hit an RBI single. One out later, Alomar drove in a run with a grounder that eluded Matt Williams at third base for an error. By then, it was 4-1 and the bats were finished for the night. Much like the 1961 All-Star Game at Fenway, when the pitchers dominated in a 1-1 tie, called after nine innings because of rain. STRIKING RESEMBLANCE Pedro Martinez became the first to strike out the first three batters in the All-Star Game, then ran his successive strikeout streak to four in a performance reminiscent of Carl Hubbell. Hubbell, of the New York Giants
MARTINEZ'S NIGHT First inning Barry Larkin, Strikeout Larry Walker, Strikeout Sammy Sosa, Strikeout Second inning Mark McGwire, Strikeout Matt Williams, Error Jeff Bagwell, Strikeout HUBBELL'S NIGHT First inning (x) Babe Ruth, Strikeout Lou Gehrig, Strikeout Jimmie Foxx, Strikeout Second inning Al Simmons, Strikeout Joe Cronin, Strikeout Bill Dickey, Single (x) Hubbell gave up two hits in the first before recording an out. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) Hometown hero Pedro Martinez was dominant in the AL's victory, striking out five to earn MVP honors. Roberto Borea/Associated Press HOW THE LOCALS DID (2--Color) Gary Sheffield - Dodgers, OF Did not play (3--Color) Troy Percival - Angels, P Did not play BOX: STRIKING RESEMBLANCE (see text) |
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