Ned Yost’s gamble pays off as A.L. wins All-Star Game

CINCINNATI – Ned Yost always has been a little different when it comes to his day-to-day managerial decisions. When the book and all baseball logic scream for an obvious move to be made, the Royals manager isn’t afraid to do the opposite.

And if his Royals do return to the World Series again, they will have the home-field advantage.

Yost’s gamble in the fifth inning against Clayton Kershaw broke open a tie ballgame and the American League pulled away late en route to a 6-3 victory in the 2015 All-Star Game. It was the third consecutive year the American League prevailed in the midsummer classic.

The sold-out crowd of 43,656 at Great American Ball Park probably wasn’t thinking strategies or left-hand/right-hand splits statistics when Prince Fielder came walking to the plate to pinch-hit for designated hitter Nelson Cruz of the Mariners in the fifth inning.

With two outs and Mike Trout on second and Albert Pujols on first, Yost followed his plan to bring Fielder into the game after Cruz had two plate appearances. It didn’t matter that Kershaw was on the mound and that left-handed hitters have hit .191 with a .564 OPS against him in his career, while striking out once in almost every three at-bats. It didn’t matter that Cruz, who had struck out and flew out in his first two at-bats, has destroyed left-handed pitching and is hitting .388 with a 1.265 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers this season.

Everything said to stay with Cruz. Yost went with Fielder and was rewarded. The husky left-hander pushed a single into left field on a 95-mph fastball that allowed the ultrafast Trout to race home with the go-ahead run. The American League would never trail again.

“I know how tough of an out he is,” Yost said of Fielder. “It doesn’t matter if it’s left-handed or right-handed. In that situation, I felt good about Prince doing exactly what he did.”

Yost’s own player, Lorenzo Cain, followed with a double down the left-field line to score Pujols from second and make it 3-1.

That’s really all the American League’s stacked pitching staff needed to close out the National League.

Andrew McCutchen gave the N.L. some hope when he jumped on the first pitch he saw from Tampa’s Chris Archer in the seventh inning, pulling a homer into the upper deck past left field.

But the A.L. answered with two runs in the seventh against Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez. Manny Machado doubled home Brock Holt and later Fielder hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Machado from third to push the lead to 5-2.

The lead grew to four runs in the eighth. Minnesota’s Brian Dozier, one of the hottest hitters in baseball in the past week, hit a towering solo home run to left-center off Pirates closer Mark Melancon.

The N.L. picked up a run in the bottom of the ninth. Ryan Braun tripled off Twins closer Glenn Perkins. Braun later scored on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Crawford to make it 6-3. But that was all the N.L. would get against Perkins, who closed out the victory for the A.L.

While there were plenty of runs late, it was the first run of the game that was the most impressive.

Reigning American League MVP Mike Trout led off the game with a home run. Trout muscled a 1-2, 94-mph fastball from N.L. starter Zack Greinke over the wall in right field. It was a display of Trout’s raw strength that he was able to hit that pitch out of the ballpark.

Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez could only chuckle in the dugout.

“It’s happened to me a few times too,” he said.

Trout has homered off Hernandez three times in his career. The past two seasons on opening day, Trout has hit home runs in his first at-bat of the season – both against Hernandez.