A Sho-case for Shohei Ohtani became a grand stage for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., too.

Ohtani unleashed his 100 mph heat while pitching a perfect inning for the win in becoming baseballB次元官网网址檚 first two-way All-Star, Guerrero rocked Coors Field with a 468-foot home run and the American League breezed 5-2 Tuesday night in Denver for its eighth straight victory.

Near and far, the sportB次元官网网址檚 entire focus was on Ohtani from the very start.

Players on both sides climbed to the dugout rails to watch him, and the Japanese sensation went 0 for 2, grounding out twice as the ALB次元官网网址檚 leadoff man and designated hitter.

Jared Walsh, OhtaniB次元官网网址檚 teammate on the Los Angeles Angels, got a save B次元官网网址� with his glove. He made a sliding catch in left field on Kris BryantB次元官网网址檚 tricky liner with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning.

So even with the teams decked out in new uniforms that social media deemed a strikeout instead of a home run, it was a familiar result. Mike Zunino also connected for the AL as it improved to 46-43-2 overall in the series.

J.T. Realmuto homered for the National League on a mile-high night at Coors, baseballB次元官网网址檚 ultimate launching pad.

A 27-year-old right-hander in his fourth big league season, Ohtani has dazzled. He leads the major leagues with 33 homers and is 4-1 in 13 starts as a pitcher, a two-way performance not seen since Babe Ruth in 1919 and B次元官网网址�20, before the Bambino largely gave up the mound for slugging.

B次元官网网址淭his has been the best experience, most memorable,B次元官网网址� he said through translator Ippei Mizuhara. B次元官网网址淥bviously, IB次元官网网址檝e never played in the playoffs or World Series, so once I do that, thatB次元官网网址檚 probably going to surpass it. But this has been the most memorable.B次元官网网址�

Ohtani was a double triple-digit threat in Denver, hitting a 513-foot drive during Monday nightB次元官网网址檚 Home Run Derby and throwing a 100.2 mph pitch to Nolan Arenado.

B次元官网网址淗e was as good as advertised,B次元官网网址� Arenado said.

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Following a full day, Ohtani slept until 10:30 a.m.

B次元官网网址淚t was a lot more tiring compared to the regular season, but if everyone had fun IB次元官网网址檓 good with it,B次元官网网址� he said.

Major League Baseball even made a special rules tweak for Ohtani, allowing him to be replaced as a pitcher and to remain in the game as the DH afterhe was done pitching. He grounded out twice B次元官网网址� Pittsburgh second baseman Adam Frazier ranged to make a nice backhanded pickup that prevented a hit against Max Scherzer starting the night.

Ohtani combined with Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Nathan Eovaldi, Gregory Soto, Chris Bassitt, Andrew Kittredge, Matt Barnes and Liam Hendriks on an eight-hitter.

Hendriks got the save, helped by a lucky bounce that turned what wouldB次元官网网址檝e been a wild pitch into an out at second.

Despite another season of strikeouts that have alarmed baseballB次元官网网址檚 leadership, NL batters whiffed 12 times while AL hitters had just three strikeouts.

Still, the result had a familiar ring. The AL has won 20 of the last 23 All-Star Games with one tie thrown in.

WELCOME TO THE , VLADDY.

B次元官网网址� MLB (@MLB)

While everything is measured with precision these days, GuerreroB次元官网网址檚 third-inning drive against MilwaukeeB次元官网网址檚 Corbin Burnes was jaw-dropping even before Statcast revealed it went 468 feet, the longest since All-Star Games were wired in 2015.

As the ball landed at the top of the left-field seats under the huge video board, NL shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., another of B次元官网网址渏uniorsB次元官网网址� among a record 42 first-time All-Stars, turned slowly and put both hands over his head.

GuerreroB次元官网网址檚 homer was the 200th in All-Star history and he followed in the bat path of his father, Vladimir Guerrero, who homered off Brad Penny in the 2006 game at Pittsburgh. They joined Bobby Bonds (1973) and Barry Bonds (1998 at Coors) and Ken Griffey Sr. (1980) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1992) as the only father-son duos with All-Star homers.

Guerrero added an RBI grounder in the fifth against MiamiB次元官网网址檚 Trevor Rogers, and BostonB次元官网网址檚 Xander Bogaerts followed with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead. Both runs were unearned after shortstop Brandon Crawford misplayed Teoscar HernandezB次元官网网址檚 grounder for an error.

TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Marcus Semien had put the AL ahead with an RBI single in the second off Burnes, who took the loss.

Realmuto homered in the fifth off Soto, a more pedestrian 430-foot drive that was the first by a Philadelphia All-Star since Mike Schmidt in 1981.

Zunino cracked a 433-foot shot in the sixth against Taijuan Walker and allowed a run-scoring passed ball in the bottom half.

A crowd of 49,184 filled Coors Field, a stark contrast to the 2020 regular season played in empty ballparks because of the pandemic and many games with limited fans in the first half of this season while vaccinations became more prevalent.

Ohtani became the second straight Japanese pitcher to win the All-Star Game after the YankeesB次元官网网址� Masahiro Tanaka two years ago. Last yearB次元官网网址檚 game was canceled when the seasonB次元官网网址檚 start was delayed by the pandemic to late July.

He retired Tatis, Max Muncy and Arenado, a Colorado fan favorite, in order in the bottom half, throwing 10 of 14 pitches for strikes.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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