Ozzie Guillen had seen it so many times with his White Sox that he must have been expecting it.
His team behind by a run in the ninth inning? Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko coming up?
No problem.
Though Dye made an out, Konerko’s two-out single started a two-run rally to propel the American League to a 3-2 victory in the 77th All-Star Game on Tuesday night at PNC Park. The victory was the AL’s 10th straight and 15th in the last 17 decisions against the National League.
On a humid, drizzly night in front of a crowd of 38,904 and a worldwide television audience, the AL won as All-Star Most Valuable Player Michael Young of Texas tripled home pinch-runner Jose Lopez and Troy Glaus. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera then closed it out.
“That’s the way we play almost every day,” Guillen said in reference to his Sox. “When Paulie gets on base, we think we always have a chance.”
Konerko wasn’t surprised.
“A.J. [Pierzynski] said it’s like an ambush,” Konerko said. “It looks like there’s nothing going on, and in a matter of two minutes, [it’s over] and Rivera is coming in.”
The victory was important because it means home-field advantage for the AL in the World Series, in which Guillen’s Sox hope to play for the second straight year.
“I told my players, it’s not about showing up and playing the All-Star Game, it’s about winning,” Guillen said.
“It’s like the seventh game of the World Series. You have to win one game to get the home-field advantage. Somebody in that [clubhouse] will need it. That’s why I treat this like a regular game and not a showcase.”
Guillen was wiping away tears during the fifth-inning ceremony honoring Roberto Clemente, who was one of the greatest players in Pittsburgh history and a hero to Guillen, who credits him with helping Latin players become accepted.
“[He] means a lot to all Latin players,” Guillen said. “Not only to Latin players, but baseball in general.”
In a lighter mood beforehand, Guillen said he wasn’t nervous about managing because “I’ve managed worse teams than this. This is the greatest team I’ve ever managed.”
It didn’t look like it for much of the night.
The National League ran its way out of the go-ahead run in the third inning–and then ran its way into it.
Explanation: With one out, Alfonso Soriano singled and stole second base. But when he tried to score on Carlos Beltran’s single, center fielder Vernon Wells threw him out. Beltran got to second on the play, then swiped third base and scored on Roy Halladay’s wild pitch.
The play broke a 1-1 tie that had come on home runs by the AL’s Vladimir Guerrero in the top of the second inning and the NL’s David Wright in the bottom half. The Mets’ Wright had been a finalist in the Home Run Derby the night before.
The teams went scoreless in the fourth through eighth innings with Brandon Webb, Bronson Arroyo, Brian Fuentes, Derrick Turnbow and Tom Gordon pitching for the Nationals and Barry Zito, Scott Kazmir, Johan Santana and B.J. Ryan going for the Americans.
The stretch included a groundout by the White Sox’s Jim Thome in the eighth inning and a single by Konerko to lead off the seventh. He was erased in a double play.
But Konerko started the winning rally in the ninth inning with a two-out single off San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman. Lopez ran for Konerko and advanced to third on Glaus’ ground-rule double. Both scored on Young’s triple.
Young’s Texas teammate, Hank Blalock, hit a pinch two-run homer in the eighth to win the 2003 All-Star Game at U.S. Cellular Field, the first game for home-field advantage in the World Series.
“I’m not going to lie,” Young said. “Everyone dreams of having a big All-Star Game. “Someone is going to be in good shape come [the World Series].”
That someone could be Guillen, plus his Sox, who benefited last year when their own Mark Buehrle was the winning All-Star pitcher.
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dvandyck@tribune.com
