Cincinnati Reds LHP Andrew Abbott pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning, and Elly De La Cruz went 0-for-2 as the duo soaked in the MLB All-Star Game vibe.
ATLANTA – As a steady parade of All-Star pitchers finished their prescribed work and headed out to media interviews and the exits, Cincinnati Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott stayed for every minute left of the MLB All-Star game in Atlanta.
Mostly on the dugout rail, always it seemed in a conversation. Soaking up all there was to soak up during an All-Star experience that seemed to live up to all those childhood dreams and justify all the nervous energy.
“You grow up watching it on TV, and you’re like, ‘I want to do that one day,’ “ he said. “And then you’re in it.”
One unforeseen benefit to sticking around: He was able to witness the first extra-inning "swing-off" in All-Star history, with a 6-6 tie at the end of nine innings decided by a 3-on-3 home run derby-style event – each of the six participants getting three swings, and the side with the most homers at the end of it declared the winner.
The Reds contingent of Abbott and shortstop Elly De La Cruz took the field together in the top of the sixth inning of the game eventually won when the National League outhomered the American League in the "swing-off" thanks to Middletown's Kyle Schwarber winning the competition for the NL.
With 36 friends and family in the stadium after making the six-hour trek from Abbott’s old stomping grounds in Virginia, the Reds lefty threw his first All-Star pitch for a strike. And 12 pitches later, he had a 1-2-3 inning – setting down Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Yankees, Riley Greene of the Tigers and Randy Arozarena of the Mariners on two fly balls to center and an easy bouncer back to the mound he took care of himself.
It preserved a 2-0 lead at the time.
If it seemed like Abbott enjoyed the experience on the mound, or in the dugout afterward, you should have seen him during events Monday and early Tuesday, including the red-carpet arrival of the All-Stars a few hours before the game.
“It was great. It was a new thing,” said Abbott, who had his parents join him on the carpet walk. “They had a blast. Dad was smiling and waving at everybody.”
He spotted a few Reds fans in the crowd as he took pictures along the way.
“It’s definitely something I would love to do again,” he said.
De La Cruz, in his second All-Star appearance, batted twice, striking out to end the sixth and flying out to left in the eighth.
He also played a co-starring role in a pregame promotion involving All-Stars and movie lines, saying: "I got a need, a need for speed. I'm fast."
The game also carried a more serious message between the fourth and fifth innings for many players, including De La Cruz.
During the “Stand Up To Cancer” moment, when fans, players and media held up signs in which they’d written the names of loved ones they were representing, De La Cruz held two signs.
One read, “La Familia.” The other, “Los enfermos.” The family. The sick.
De La Cruz lost his sister May 31 after an illness. He has worn tributes to her on his gear since then and on the inside of the jacket of the custom suit he wore during the red carpet event.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott soak up MLB All-Star vibe
Category: Baseball
