The All-Star Game last night featured a ton of great and memorable moments, from Andres Gimenez‘s backhand flip to Giancarlo Stanton and Byron Buxton‘s home runs.
Paul Goldschmidt also hit a home run and Ryan Helsley touched 103 mph with his fastball twice.
But what matters most is how the game ended, and it ended rather quickly, once American League manager Dusty Baker turned to Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase.
Clase took the mound and retired the National League in short order to pick up the save and secure the American League’s ninth straight victory, picking up three strikeouts along the way.
CBS Sports tweeted that Clase is only the second pitcher to strike out three hitters in an inning on 10 pitches or less in the All-Star Game.
The first?
3 strikeouts in one inning during the All-Star Game on 10 or less pitches:
2022: Emmanuel Clase (10)
2015: Jacob deGrom (10) pic.twitter.com/cVXzbmvsYx— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 20, 2022
Clase Dominates The NL
Needless to say, this puts Clase in some very elite company.
He’s been a key piece in the Guardians bullpen.
He’s 2-2 with a 1.41 ERA in 40 games and has converted 19 of 21 save opportunities.
He sure didn’t waste any time carving his way through the National League hitters he faced in the bottom of the ninth.
He went out there and made it look easy as he finished off the game and gave the American League yet another victory in the All-Star Game.
To be in company with deGrom is very impressive too, especially considering that Clase has only been around since 2019, when he came up with the Texas Rangers.
But now, he can say that he’s one of two pitchers who struck out three batters in an inning on 10 pitches or less in an All-Star Game.
The second half of the season now looms with the All-Star Week festivities drawing to a close.
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