Paul Goldschmidt still looking for first All-Star win
Jul 13, 2016, 8:12 AM
National League's Paul Goldschmidt, of the Arizona Diamondbacks, hits during the MLB baseball All-Star Game, Tuesday, July 12, 2016, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made his fourth All-Star Game appearance Tuesday night in San Diego, but he didn’t have much impact on the game, won by the American League All-Stars, 4-2 in front of 42,386 fans at Petco Park.
Goldschmidt pinch-hit for Bryce Harper in the fifth inning and flew out to right field against Toronto reliever Aaron Sanchez for the second out of the inning.
The Arizona slugger got another chance to bat in the seventh. With the National League trailing 4-2, Goldschmidt stepped in against Yankees reliever Dellin Betances with a runner on first base. He flied out to center field for the second out of the inning.
Then, in the ninth, Goldschmidt represented the tying run after Washington’s Daniel Murphy led off the inning with a single. Facing Baltimore’s Zach Britton, he reached on a fielder’s choice back to the pitcher, beating out the AL’s attempt to turn a 1-6-3 double play. The next batter, Colorado’s Nolan Arenado, bounced into a game-ending double play.
“We had some guys on and we had pretty good at-bats,” Goldschmidt said following the contest. “(Murphy) got on two times in front of me and we had guys on second and third a couple times with two outs, but it’s just tough to try and get three hits off those guys in one inning — they’re really good.”
With his 0-for-3 performance Tuesday, Goldschmidt is now batting .182 (2-for-11) in All-Star competition. He had a double off of Texas reliever Joe Nathan in the ninth inning of his first All-Star Game in 2013. In last year’s game in Cincinnati, Goldschmidt went 1-for-3 with a single off of Houston’s Dallas Keuchel to lead off the second inning and would later score on an RBI single by Jhonny Peralta to tie the game at 1-1. The American League went on to win the game, 6-3.
Not that it’s any more than coincidence, but the National League is now 0-4 in All-Star Games in which Goldschmidt has played.
Goldschmidt and the Diamondbacks resume their schedule Friday night at Chase Field when they open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
