With all the talk of 2010's being the year of the pitcher, well, the National League continued that trend. The NL also showed off its rising stars.
All eight elected National League starting-position players were younger than 30, the first time that has happened since the American League fielded a young team in 1962, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The first two pitchers that National League and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel used were 26 years old. They both dominated.
Starter Ubaldo Jimenez, of the Colorado Rockies, needed 25 pitches to complete two innings. Josh Johnson, who struck out the side in the third inning, threw 29 pitches in his two innings.
The National League rode its pitching all night.
The two Phillies in the game, Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard, had no effect on the outcome.
Halladay, who leads the majors by a wide margin in innings pitched with 148 at the break, had to warm up twice before he entered in the sixth inning. On Monday, Halladay said the biggest difference for him at an All-Star Game is the change in preparation.
The first pitch he threw was hit. Derek Jeter blooped a Halladay fastball into right-center. Byrd dove headfirst for the ball but it nicked his glove and fell to the grass.
Halladay struck out the next batter, Paul Konerko, with a high fastball. On a 3-2 count, pinch-runner Elvis Andrus was running. McCann double-clutched his throw to second but Andrus overslid the bag and was tagged out by Brandon Phillips.
Again, Halladay reached a 3-2 count on the next batter, Josh Hamilton. He singled through the hole on the right side.
Manuel had seen enough.
Halladay threw 17 pitches and couldn't finish the inning, but that mattered less to Manuel on this day. Manager and pitcher had a brief conversation on the mound - an event this season that often has resulted in Halladay's convincing Manuel that he can keep going.
That wasn't the priority Tuesday.
