Braves Catcher Brian McCann Delivers For The NL In All-Star Game
The National League finally FINALLY won the All-Star game, and it was in large part thanks to the Braves catcher. Brian McCann had the biggest hit for the National League in more than a decade.
brian mccann
With one out in the seventh inning and the bases loaded, McCann popped up a pitch to right field that barely made it into the stands for strike one. The next pitch from left-handed pitcher Matt Thornton was a 98 mph fastball that McCann turned on and laced down the right field line, clearing the bases and giving the National League their only runs on the night -- enough for a 3-to-1 win.
It was a huge hit for McCann. The three-run double was the first hit he's collected in five total All-Star at-bats spanning his five consecutive years as an All-Star. After the game he was named the MVP of the All-Star game for that clutch hit, which sent the NL to their first win since 1996. McCann was the first Braves player to win the All-Star game MVP since 1994 when Fred McGriff won the award.
Martin Prado started at second base, going 0-for-3, but he put every ball in play -- which is saying something with the kind of heat all those pitchers were throwing. Neither Omar Infante nor Tim Hudson got into the game.