Promising Brennen Davis, he hit two home runs and won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of the Future All-Star Game after leading the National League to an 8-3 victory over the American League in the Game of the Future on Sunday. .
The Cuban José Barrero, from Cincinnati, Michael Toglia, from Colorado, and the Venezuelan Francisco Álvarez, from the Mets, also blew up the wall in the exhibition of the best young talents in the field of “Coors Field” and put the Latin American flavor to the duel.
Tonight the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game will continue on Tuesday.
Toglia, a 22-year-old Class A Spokane and familiar with the “Coors” from his time in the Rockies system, was cheered loudly by fans in a crowd of 49,012, the largest in front of which had played.
Davis had a mishap when a fastball hit him in the face during a spring training game on April 22, delaying the start of his season until May 22.
Promoted to Double-A on June 1, Davis sent a fourth-inning fastball from Minnesota’s Josh Winder over the center-field wall, then hit a Baltimore slider from Marcos Diplan to the left in the sixth.
Even before Davis plays a major league game, he will be in Cooperstown. The Hall of Fame took his bat along with a cap worn by Yankees minor league hitting coach Rachel Balkovec, the first woman to coach in the Game of the Future.
And the promises were highlighted when Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. stopped by to chat.
The best pitchers on display included Shane Baz of Tampa Bay, a 22-year-old right-hander who is expected to start for the United States at the Olympics. He struck out two in a perfect second inning, throwing a fastball at up to 98.5 miles per hour.
Matthew Liberatore, a 21-year-old southpaw from St. Louis blocked from the Olympics by the Cardinals after pitching twice in qualifying, started with a perfect first for the National League.
Cincinnati’s Nick Nodolo, Washington’s Cade Cavalli and the Cubs’ Rodriguez each pitched a no-hitter inning as the NL led a one-hit shutout to the seventh.
Barrero played 24 games for the Reds last year as José García and changed his name in May to honor his mother, who died of Covid-19.
He hit a solo home run in the first on a fastball from Texas’ Cole Winn, who took the loss.
Toglia made it 3-0 in the third on a sinker from Rangers Cole Ragans.
The Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman added an RBI double against Boston’s Brayan Bello and San Diego’s Luis Campusano increased the lead to 5-0 with a sacrifice fly.
The first time the All-Star Game was held at Coors Field in Denver was 1998, when Mexican Vinicio Castilla was the Rockies’ starting third baseman.
Castilla once again dressed up in what was his “home” for most of the 1990s to lead the National League team in the Future Stars Game, helping them win as their best slugger times. EFE (HN)