Pete Alonso wins Home Run Derby over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ,
For two rounds, Vlad Guerrero Jr. looked unstoppable in the 2019 Home Run Derby on Monday night.
The New York Mets’
Pete Alonso barely edged his way through his first two rounds of the competition to make it to the finals to face the Toronto Blue Jays’ budding star.
But with Guerrero possibly tired by his epic semifinal that ended 20 minutes earlier, Alonso and his slow-and-steady approach proved to be enough.
Alonso, the competition’s No. 2 seed, won the battle of the rookies in the final, edging Guerrero 23-22 to take the Home Run Derby crown at Progressive Field.
“It doesn’t matter how much jelly’s in the jar,” Alonso said earlier in the day. “It matters how you spread it on your English muffins. It’s a long, long event. It can get long if you advance. Conserve your energy. That’s the main thing.”
Alonso did just that.
The power-hitting first baseman defeated Carlos Santana 14-13 in the first round and Acuna 20-19 in the semifinals. Both of Alonso’s wins came with last-second home runs.
But in the end, it was enough to get him to the finals, where he once again narrowly defeated his opponent.
It didn’t matter that Guerrero, the No. 8 seed and the youngest player to ever compete in the derby, belted out a record 91 home runs over his three rounds, including 40 in an epic semifinal matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Pederson that included a tiebreaker and two swing-offs.
Alonso pulled off the comeback in the final. He conserved his energy.
He won the home run derby.
CORA HONORED TO MANAGE STARS
Alex Cora has come a long way in the two-plus decades since he finished his collegiate career with the Miami Hurricanes.
A 14-year MLB career went until 2011 and saw him win a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2007.
He won two more World Series titles each of the past two seasons, first as a coach on the Houston Astros staff before leading the Red Sox to the 2018 title in his first season as the club’s manager.
Cora, 43, will hit another milestone at Progressive Field on Tuesday night when he serves as the manager for the American League in the 2019 All-Star Game.
“It’s an honor to be here,” Cora said.
“I want to thank the Red Sox organization, the players, the front office and obviously the Red Sox Nation for the support last year.
“It was a dream season. Great to be here, representing my country, too.”
STARTING PITCHERS
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu and Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander will be the starting pitchers for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Ryu, 32, comes into the break with an MLB-best 1.73 ERA and has a 10-2 record over 17 starts. This is Ryu’s first All-Star nomination in seven seasons with the Dodgers after spending his first seven seasons of professional baseball in Korea’s KBO League.
“Just a great honor for me to start the All-Star Game, not only for myself but for my family and for all the fans in Korea,” Ryu said through a translator. “It’s definitely a special day and I’d like to use this opportunity to show them what they want.”
Verlander, 36, is making his second career All-Star Game start and is playing in his eighth All-Star game overall. Verlander is 10-4 with a 1.98 ERA over 19 starts this season.
“It’s an honor,” Verlander said. “Alex called me after my last start, and anytime you get the opportunity to represent not only yourself but your organization, the American League, Major League Baseball, it’s such an honor, and I don’t take these games for granted.
“I had the opportunity to go a few years in a row when I was younger. And then I got hurt and missed a few years in a row, and I think it made me appreciate being an All-Star all the more.”