MIAMI _ There was an at-bat interrupted by a selfie. There was the formerly disgraced Alex Rodriguez, rehabilitated for the role of interviewing players as they warmed up between innings. There were right fielders wearing microphones on the field, chatting with national television announcers between pitches.
The All-Star game has been restored to its rightful place as a true exhibition game, and this one was an exhibition of baseball circa 2017: home runs, strikeouts and yawns.
Robinson Cano hit the home run that won the game, a solo shot off Wade Davis in the 10th inning, powering the American League to a 2-1 victory. The host Miami Marlins announced a sellout, but tickets at face value still were available late Tuesday afternoon, and the ballpark was quiet and half empty by the time Cano hit his game-winning home run.
The game ended when Andrew Miller struck out Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger with the potential tying run on base.
The AL tied the National League in the all-time series, 43-43, with two ties. The AL won for the fifth consecutive All-Star game.
Yadier Molina also hit a home run, also a solo shot. Of the 30 outs made by the winning team, 14 came by strikeout. In the ninth inning, when the AL had what would have been the winning run at second base with none out against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, the next three batters struck out.
There could be no better expression of the joy with which players regard the game _ and its reclaimed status as a pure exhibition, with nothing at stake _ than the moment when Nelson Cruz approached home plate in the sixth inning.
He had a bat _ he is a designated hitter, after all _ but he also had a cellphone. Cruz handed the phone to Molina, the catcher, who appeared a bit stunned but nonetheless agreed to take a picture. Cruz then put his arm around plate umpire Joe West, who smiled sheepishly.
This was the All-Star game for the Instagram generation.
Molina displayed a bit of flair himself, by wearing a blinding gold catcher's mask and chest protector, with enough gold for a Cardinal but probably more than a pirate could hope to find.
He had a jewel moment too. He tagged Ervin Santana for a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, tying the score, 1-1.
In this year of the home run, it took the game's best hitters six innings to finally light up the garish sculpture beyond the outfield wall, that psychedelic monstrosity topped by a tilting marlin.
That was a display for all the senses. Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood enjoyed the sound a pitcher cherishes, the tone that indicates the ball hit the bat, but not well. This would be a pop fly, the end of the inning, a successful and scoreless All-Star appearance.
That Wood was here was a success in itself, and a surprise. When they broke camp, the Dodgers did not consider him one of their best five starting pitchers. Yet here he was, in the All-Star game, selected as one of the seven best starters in the National League.
The fifth inning would be his. He got the first batter on one pitch, the second on two pitches. Jonathan Schoop doubled, but no big deal. One more out, and a scoreless fifth inning would make for a nice All-Star debut for Wood.
He got the pop fly, off the bat of Miguel Sano, arcing toward the roof here. The ball cleared first base in a high arc, just beyond the base, as three members of the Washington Nationals _ first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, second baseman Daniel Murphy and right fielder Bryce Harper _ converged toward the descending ball.
Surely the three teammates, well aware of how they field their positions, would choreograph their approach so that two got out of the way and one caught the ball. But, as the ball descended toward the ground, Harper appeared to pull up just short, and so did Zimmerman. The ball hit the ground just inside the foul line.
Wood had done his job. Tough play, but a run-scoring single nonetheless. His All-Star game ERA would stand at 9.00, not 0.00.
