Red Sox Journal: All-Star Game was a proud moment for Moreland

WASHINGTON — Mitch Moreland didn’t need Tuesday night to validate his career.

By almost any measure in baseball, spending nine years in the big leagues is more than successful. And the 32-year-old Red Sox first baseman still appears to have plenty left considering the strong numbers he posted in his first All-Star Game.

Moreland was the most popular choice in the Boston clubhouse among the five Red Sox players selected. Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel each made a [...]

WASHINGTON — Mitch Moreland didn’t need Tuesday night to validate his career.

By almost any measure in baseball, spending nine years in the big leagues is more than successful. And the 32-year-old Red Sox first baseman still appears to have plenty left considering the strong numbers he posted in his first All-Star Game.

Moreland was the most popular choice in the Boston clubhouse among the five Red Sox players selected. Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel each made a seventh appearance, Mookie Betts was selected for the third straight time and J.D. Martinez was elected by the fans to start as the designated hitter in his second trip. Moreland went 1-for-2 in a pair of matchups against hard-throwing left-handers, striking out against Pittsburgh’s Felipe Vazquez in the seventh and lining a single to left field against Milwaukee’s Josh Hader in the eighth inning of a 5-3 American League win.

“All of them are telling me that they’re proud of me — I’m supposed to be saying this to y’all,” Moreland said. “Mookie’s over there like, ‘Hey, I know you’re older than me, but I’m proud of you.’ I’m like, ‘Shut up, Mookie.’ ”

“We have a little group chat going making sure Mitch doesn’t get lost,” Martinez joked during Monday’s media availability.

Moreland began the season splitting at-bats with Hanley Ramirez and has grown into his role as Boston’s everyday first baseman. The .500 slugging percentage and .853 OPS he’s compiled through 77 games would both be career bests if he’s able to carry them through to October.

“It was huge, especially being a players’ selection,” Moreland said. “I thought that was cool. It’s something that I take pride in.”

Easy night for Sale

Sale was his usual dominant self while making his third straight All-Star Game start for the American League.

The left-hander required just nine pitches to work the first inning, the only inning he pitched. Javier Baez lined a first-pitch single to center leading off before Sale set down the next three batters.

“I always really enjoy these events,” Sale said. “Everyone sees the game and the Home Run Derby, but there are a lot of things that go on otherwise.”

Sale threw six fastballs in his outing, all clocked at 99.1 mph or better. Monday would have been his normal day to start with the Red Sox, and he appeared fresh and ready to take the ball with an extra day of rest.

“I felt really good,” Sale said. “Take a little time off, get an extra day, plus I’m only throwing one inning. Nice little tuneup. I felt good.”

Sale, Boston manager Alex Cora and A.L. manager A.J. Hinch all agreed it would be a brief stint in this one. Cora has been cautious with Sale throughout his first 20 starts, limiting him to 12 1/3 fewer innings and 171 less pitches than at this point in 2017.

“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things,” Sale said. “I say it a lot, but I’ve got a lot of good guys in my corner."

Good company

Betts went 0-for-3 while becoming just the third three-time starter in team history. Ted Williams had three such stints (1940-42, 1949-51, 1955-57), David Ortiz posted a pair (2005-07, 2011-13) and Wade Boggs (1986-92) had the longest Boston spell in the starting lineup. Williams was the first Red Sox player to accomplish the feat. Frank Malzone (1958-60), Carl Yastrzemski (1970-72) and Fred Lynn (1978-80) round out the list.

The Red Sox right fielder struck out looking in the first, flew to deep center in the third and struck out swinging in the fifth. Betts faced three different pitchers, making solid contact against Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom and fanning against Washington’s Max Scherzer and Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola.

Betts also became the seventh player in franchise history to bat leadoff, the first since Johnny Damon in 2005. Betts and Damon are the only two Boston players to top the A.L. lineup since Pete Runnels earned the honor in 1959. Dom DiMaggio (1946, 1949, 1951, 1952) posted an .801 OPS and received Most Valuable Player votes five times during his seven-year span dominating the top spot.

Doc Cramer (1939), Bobby Doerr (1941) and Billy Goodman (1953) have also batted leadoff in an All-Star Game for the Red Sox.

A hit for Martinez

Martinez recorded the game’s first hit in the opening inning, grounding a first-pitch fastball from Scherzer up the middle for a single. The Red Sox outfielder/designated hitter became the eighth A.L. cleanup hitter for Boston and the second in three years, joining Ortiz (2016).

Three Red Sox players have had multiple appearances in that spot, including Williams (1941, 1950, 1951), Jim Rice (1979, 1983) and Manny Ramirez (2004, 2005). Jimmie Foxx (1938), Malzone (1963) and Yastrzemski (1977) also batted fourth while playing for the Red Sox.

Martinez struck out swinging against deGrom in the third and was done for the night, replaced by Nelson Cruz in the sixth.

— bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25