All-Stars showcase modern MLB: HRs, strikeouts, shifts

By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The All-Star Game showcased what baseball has become — home runs, strikeouts and offense-killing shifts. The National League didn’t have a hit between the first and eighth innings of Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss, its ninth in a row. Four of the five runs scored on long balls. There were 22 strikeouts, including the final three batters on 10 pitches by Emmanuel Clase in a game that lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes despite just 13 hits, five walks, two hit batters and one runner reaching on a error. Juan Soto, Kyle Schwarber and Jake Cronenworth all hit groundouts that might have been hits if not for shifted infields.