American League wins 2021 MLB All-Star Game by defeating National League 5 – 2

American League defeats National League 5 – 2 in the 2021 MLB All-star game at Coors Field, Denver.

BOX SCORE

The 91^st All-Star Game featured something never seen before in MLB history, a player pulling double duty as a pitcher and hitter, but a outcome of the game has become rather routine.

For the eighth straight season and the 15th time in the last 18 of these all-star game it was the American League that came out on top Tuesday night at Coors Field. Behind a scoreless first inning from two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, home runs from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who claimed Chevrolet All-Star Game MVP honors and Mike Zunino and a key defensive play from Ohtani’s Angels teammate Jared Walsh, the AL beat the NL, 5-2, on a perfect summer night in front of 49,184 fans in the Mile High City.

Naturally, all eyes were on Ohtani at the outset. Fresh off his thrilling-but-unfulfilling turn in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday night, the 27-year-old Ohtani led off the game as the designated hitter and then pitched the bottom of the first inning. A couple groundouts at the plate won’t add to the growing Ohtani legend, but he did pitch a 1-2-3 inning against the top of the NL order, Fernando Tatis Jr., Max Muncy and Nolan Arenado that included a 100.2-mph four-seam fastball.

But as Ohtani-centric as the lead-up to this game was, the game itself showcased other stars. The Toronto two-some of Marcus Semien and Guerrero got the AL ahead early against Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes. Semien came through with an RBI single in the second, and the 22-year-old Guerrero smacked and stood to watch a magnificent 468-foot solo shot to left-center in the third.

In going deep just as his Hall of Fame father had in the 2006 All-Star Game, Guerrero hit the longest All-Star home run since Statcast began tracking. It was also the 200th home run in the long history of this event.

More Blue Jays bullishness arrived when Teoscar Hernández led off what turned out to be a two-run fifth with a double off Marlins rookie Trevor Rogers.

The NL finally got on the board with a J.T. Realmuto homer off the Tigers’ Gregory Soto to cut the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth, but the AL answered right back with Rays catcher Zunino’s solo shot to right-center off Mets right-hander Taijuan Walker in the sixth.

The NL did get another run across in the bottom of the sixth, but its biggest threat to the AL’s dominance was extinguished in the eighth. The bases were loaded for Kris Bryant, who hit a sharp fly ball to left. The Angels’ Walsh, who is ordinarily a first baseman and had never played an inning in left field in his big league career, snared it with a sliding grab to thwart the rally.