Royals carry American League to All-Star victory, home-field advantage

SAN DIEGO – Kansas City 4, National League 2.

The American League cruised to an All-Star Game victory on the back of the defending champion Kansas City Royals, riding home runs from Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez to a 4-2 victory over the NL and home-field advantage in the World Series for the AL champion.

It marked the AL’s fourth straight All-Star Game win and 16th in the last 20. And the majority of the damage in front of 42,386 at Petco Park came off another familiar face to the Royals: Johnny Cueto, the right-hander who last season helped deliver the Royals their crown.

After a scoreless first inning, Cueto allowed a home run to Hosmer – the first All-Star Game homer from a Royals player since Bo Jackson’s legendary shot to lead off in 1989 – and Perez followed two batters later with one of his own.

An inning later, Hosmer smashed a single through the left side, drove in Edwin Encarnacion and staked his claim to the game’s MVP award, which he won as the final sixth innings turned into a pitchers’ duel.

Kansas City manager Ned Yost and New York Mets manager Terry Collins shuffled in new players and pitchers, like this was an exhibition game or something. Yost went to his deep bullpen in the sixth inning, with Kelvin Herrera, and followed by handing the ball to Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, Will Harris and Zach Britton, who got the save.

Cleveland starter Corey Kluber got the win after arriving in the second to spell starter Chris Sale, who allowed the game’s first run on a no-doubt home run to Kris Bryant. In the previous six meetings between the crosstown Chicago rivals, Sale struck out Bryant all six times.

The NL scratched across a run in the fourth inning when Miami outfielder Marcell Ozuna singled to score San Francisco catcher Buster Posey, who earlier had walked. They stranded runners on second and third in the fifth inning and didn’t get another opportunity until all of the starters exited the game and Miller came on to lock it down the eighth inning as he had so many others.

Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy singled. With two outs, Pittsburgh outfielder Starling Marte did the same. Cincinnati outfielder Adam Duvall then walked, and with 28 pitches thrown, Miller exited and left the bases loaded for Houston reliever Will Harris. St. Louis shortstop Aledmys Diaz took Harris to a full count before staring at a cutter on the outside corner for a called third strike.

The NL flailed against Britton, ending a game that had started in atypical fashion when a singer went rogue and hijacked “O Canada” by replacing one line with lyrics proclaiming “all lives matter.” The Tenors, a Canadian group, later apologized for the stunt from singer Remigio Pereira.

The rest of the game, on the other hand, went about according to script. Good pitching. A few home runs. Pretty much any given game in 2016, even one between the world’s best players. Granted, there was no Clayton Kershaw or Jake Arrieta, no Noah Syndergaard or Yoenis Cespedes, no Wade Davis or Dexter Fowler or Stephen Strasburg, all out because of injuries or trying to rest their arms.

In their absence showed up an abundance of success from the Kansas City Royals, AL champions in 2014, World Series champions in 2015 and All-Star Game conquerors in 2016.