LF OVERPOWERS TG IN ALL-STAR GAME

(New York Daily Mirror - August 11, 2008)

HONOLULU - They said they were on a mission to set things right, to show their superiority. Unfortunately, they forgot to check with their adversaries first.

For the third consecutive year, Less Filling routed Tastes Great in the NASBL All-Star Game. The score was 7-1. LF has now outscored TG 25-2 in the last three Midsummer Classics.

TG starter Justin Verlander was perfect in his three innings of work. TG threatened in the bottom of the first, loading the bases with two out, but LF starter John Smoltz struck out 3B Chipper Jones looking. Smoltz only allowed one other hit, a single to Placido Polanco in the second, during his three inning stint.

Rich Hill succeeded Verlander in the fourth and allowed a two-out RBI single to game MVP Torii Hunter. TG had an opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth, but J.J. Putz, who had succeeded Smoltz, got both Pat Burrell and Brian McCann to ground out after Chipper Jones doubled with one out.

LF broke the game open in the sixth, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring five runs. Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed a single to Orlando Hudson. After Matt Holliday flew out, pinch-hitter Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter stroked successive singles, plating Hudson and sending Matsuzaka to the showers. Jake Peavy took over but was simply dreadful, walking two and allowing two 2-RBI singles to Bobby Abreu and Russ Martin. Javier Vazquez got the last two outs but the damage was done.

TG finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, when Alex Rodriguez belted a 425-foot home run off Bobby Jenks, but that would be the extent of TG's scoring for the day. TG managed just one more hit the rest of the way, a garbage-time double by Yorvit Torrealba with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Overall, and as anticipated by this page last week, the LF bullpen was simply dominant, throwing six innings of one-run, three-hit ball, walking four and fanning four. All of LF's damage was done to two TG pitchers, Matsuzaka and Peavy.

Torii Hunter was named the game's Most Valuable Player.