Chicago Cubs' Cole Hamels gets a standing ovation from the fans during the third inning of the team's baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
BY: MALAYA BATTON
This year’s MLB All-star Game and Home Run Derby is in Cleveland, Ohio at Progressive Field. The games were hosted over July 8th and 9th. Typically the Home Run Derby is before the All-star game. 8 competitors were participating in this year’s Derby. First was Oakland Athletics Matt Chapman who was replacing the Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich, because he had a back injury. But Yelich still played in the All-star game. Also, the other competitors in the Home Run Derby were Blue Jays rookie star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Houston Astros Alex Bregman, the L.A. Dodgers Joc Pederson, New York Mets rookie star Pete Alonso, home town Cleveland Indians star Carlos Santana, Pirates Josh Bell, and the last but not least Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.
The Home Run Derby starts with Joc Pederson vs. Alex Bregman. Pederson starts it and he hits 21 home runs. Then Alex Bregman hits 16 home runs, moving Joc Pederson to the next round. Next match up is Vladimir Guerrero Jr vs. Matt Chapman. Guerrero Jr. hits 29 home runs and then Chapman comes up and hits 13 home runs. Which points to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. moving to the next round. The third set featured Ronald Acuña Jr. vs. Josh Bell. Acuña Jr. hits 25 home runs and then Josh Bell hits 18 home runs making so Ronald Acuña Jr. moves to the next round. The fourth set showcased Carlos Santana vs. Pete Alonso. Santana hits 13 home runs to Pete Alonso’s, 14 home runs, and Pete Alonso moves to the next round.
The Semifinals started with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. Joc Pederson. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits 29 home runs then Joc Pederson hits 29. Forcing a swing off for one minute. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joc Pederson hits 7 more. Then another swing off endures as they are both tried with 37 home runs and so they get 3 swings Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits one of three and then Joc Pederson did the exact same thing. The final swing off had Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hitting two home runs to Joc Pederson/s one home run. The madness finally settled down.
So Vladimir Guerrero Jr. goes to the finals. Next to finish off the semifinals was Ronald Acuña Jr. vs. Pete Alonso. Ronald Acuña Jr. hits 19 home runs then Pete Alonso hit 20 home runs.
The finals boasted Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Pete Alonso. Guerrero Jr. goes first and he hits 22 home runs then Pete Alonso smacked 23 home runs out of the ballpark to win the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby.
Then the next day is the MLB All-star Game the game which started at 7 pm with the National League vs. the American League. Justin Verlander was pitching for the American League and Hyun-Jin Ryu was pitching for the National League. They both did not waste any runs in the first. Then after the first inning, the American League did score most of the runs in the game and at the time. When it came to the 6th inning it was 2-0 then Charlie Blackmon gives the National League their first run by hitting a home run.
Then in the 7th inning, American League score another run so it was 4-1 then the 8th inning the National League score 2 runs so the game is at 4-3. Then in the 9th inning Aroldis Chapman had the save for the American League and they won 4-3. Also, the winning pitcher was Masahiro Tanaka and the losing pitcher was Clayton Kershaw. Also, the game MVP was the Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bleber and he was the first pitcher to win the MVP in their host stadium since 2001 when Freddy Garcia of the Seattle Mariners won the award. Also, Shane Bleber struck out the side in the fifth inning and was the second Indians player to win the All-star game MVP since 1997. And Shane Bleber had a choice of two trucks from Chevrolet and he choice the Silverado Truck Trail Boss paired with the game MVP trophy which was a beautiful glass bat that he received.
