How did Marcus Semien, other Texas Rangers fare in Major League Baseball All-Star Game?
It had been more than 29 years since the Texas Rangers last hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Arlington.
On Tuesday, for the first time at Globe Life Field, home town fans got to cheer on Rangers players during the “Mid-summer Classic.” With the Rangers winning the 2023 World Series, Bruce Bochy served as the American League manager and led his team to a 5-3 victory.
Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, a three-time All-Star, started at second base for the American League.
In the third inning, he couldn’t cleanly field a hard hit ball of the bat of Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte. At first, it was ruled an error but was later changed to a base hit.
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani capitalized with a three-run home run. Semien, however, bounced back with a double play to end the inning.
Semien, in the bottom of the third, bounced back with line drive to right field that fell for a single, which was the American Leagues’ first base hit of the day. Yankees right fielder Juan Soto’s double drove Semien home.
“It’s just another day watching (Semien) play, you know?” said Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. “That’s what he does. That’s what he does for us day in and day out, which is awesome to see him be able to do that on this stage.”
In his second at-bat, Semien hit a hard line drive to San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, who made a nice catch on the run. He was replaced by Orioles second baseman Jordan Westburg to start the fifth inning.
Seager, a five-time All-Star, entered the game in the fifth inning and hit a ball that had the distance to be a home run but was foul. He followed it up with a deep fly ball to the warning track in center field that was caught; the Rangers’ slugger had a quick stint, exiting the game after one inning.
Seager said he hoped his deep fly would find a way over the wall, adding it was a good at-bat.
“It was fun and I enjoyed it,” Seager said.
Kirby Yates pitched in the eighth inning, striking out Washington Nationals infielder CJ Abrams and San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos. He completed the 1-2-3 inning by forcing Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith to pop up.
The Rangers’ pitcher said throwing in the All-Star Game was a much different experience than a regular season contest.
“It’s just a different feeling,” Yates said. “There’s so many more people in the clubhouse. There’s so much more going on. There’s a whole lot of other thing going on. That makes it not normal. It’s exciting. There’s a lot of, I guess, nerves and things like that, but overall, it’s awesome.”
Despite the nerves, Yates had a perfect performance in his sole inning of work. His said his fastball was working for him against the National Leagues’ best.
“I’m tired, and it was a great, great experience – memories I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Yates said of the game. “But I’m glad it’s over.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2024 at 9:45 PM.
.jpg)