On Monday night, Willson Contreras found himself inside of a makeshift boxing ring while Michael Buffer announced the “combatants” in the Home Run Derby. A night later, he was standing among the best players in the world as they all held sparklers during an unexpected tribute to “The Sandlot” before the fifth inning of the All-Star Game.
Such is the pageantry — or gimmickry, depending on your perspective — of baseball’s Midsummer Classic.
And while the spectacle is always a major part of the event, the game is still the best all-star contest in sports. Three Red Sox — Contreras, Aroldis Chapman and Ceddanne Rafaela — were active and in uniform for this one, while Ranger Suarez (injured) and Sonny Gray (snubbed despite an 11-1 record and 2.54 ERA in 17 starts this season) were not present.
Here’s how the Red Sox fared.
Willson Contreras
After putting on a spectacle a night prior in the Home Run Derby, Contreras had to wait around to come off the bench on Tuesday night.
He entered the game as a defensive replacement for starting first baseman Ben Rice in the bottom of the fourth inning. He fielded a grounder from Ozzie Albies at the start of the fifth and took it to first base himself for the first out, and he made a full stretch to retire Andy Pages to end the inning. (Coincidentally, that out came via tremendous defensive play by Ernie Clement, who was famously robbed by Pages of a potential World Series-winning hit in Game 7 last year.)
Contreras got to bat in the top of the sixth inning, whiffing on a ferocious cut on a first-pitch slider from Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias. Contreras missed on another hearty swing on a 1-1 count, swinging over a low changeup, but after taking a fastball away for ball two, he simply reached out and put another fastball away into play.
The resulting chopper shot right through a vacated right side of the infield, giving Contreras his first All-Star Game hit since 2018.
That hit came with two outs and nobody aboard, and Contreras was promptly retired at second one batter later when Randy Arozarena sent a routine ground ball to short.
That would be it for Contreras in this one, as he was replaced by Munetaka Murakami in the field in the bottom of the seventh.
Contreras also got to spend another All-Star Game with his brother, Brewers catcher William Contreras, which is something very few baseball players have ever done in history.
Ceddanne Rafaela
The Red Sox’ budding star made what could be the first of many All-Star Game appearances when he replaced starting center fielder Mike Trout in the fourth inning.
Rafaela had to wait until the seventh for his first at-bat, and it was over in a flash.
Swinging strike one. Called strike two. Swinging strike three. Back to the bench.
Rafaela faced Dodgers start Justin Wrobleski, who struck out the side in the seventh. Travis Bazzana struck out on four pitches to start the inning, followed by Rafaela’s three-pitch at-bat. Yandy Diaz then struck out in a five-pitch at-bat.
Rafaela got another at-bat in the ninth, with the American League leading 4-0. This time, the plate appearance was even shorter, as Rafaela grounded out to second base on the only pitch he saw from Phillies closer Jhoan Duran.
Rafaela did remain in the field for the remainder of the game, though he didn’t have any opportunities to display his elite defensive prowess.
Aroldis Chapman
The Red Sox’ closer entered the game in the ninth inning, though it wasn’t a save situation thanks to Miguel Vargas’ solo homer in the top of the eighth stretching the AL’s lead to four.
The first batter Chapman faced was Jordan Walker, the winner of Monday night’s Home Run Derby. Chapman fell behind 2-1 before recalibrating and getting two swinging strikes to send Walker back to the dugout. The strikeout by Chapman was the 15th K of the night for American League pitching.
Chapman then retired Matt Olson on one pitch, inducing a harmless popup to shallow center that was caught by shortstop Kevin McGonigle.
Chapman, though, was not given the honor of finishing the game, as Blue Jays manager John Schneider headed to the mound to replace the nine-time All-Star with Bryan Baker, a 31-year-old Rays reliever who was an All-Star for the first time. Baker did allow a single but then induced a groundout to end the game, giving the AL a 4-0 victory.
Other Notes
The AL got out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning off hometown starter Cristopher Sanchez, thanks to a pair of Yankees. Cody Bellinger delivered a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded before Ben Rice singled in another run one batter later. Considering the lack of action in the game, that was enough for Bellinger to earn the Ted Williams MVP Award on a 1-for-3 night. … Rays star Junior Caminero had an injury scare, after he took a fastball from Riley O’Brien off a finger on his left hand. X-rays were negative, according to the broadcast. … The aforementioned sparkler display came during a Sandlot-inspired music and light show in the middle of the game, featuring music from Ray Charles and a tremendous display of booming fireworks. … Justin Verlander was added to the AL All-Star roster as a “Legend Pick” by commissioner Rob Manfred, but he’s been injured since April and thus did not appear in the game.
