Elias Díaz wins MVP as NL breaks 9-game losing streak in All-Star game

The National League broke a nine-game losing streak against the American League in the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday. Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Díaz, appearing in his first career All-Star Game at 32 years old after nine seasons in the majors, hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to give the NL a 3-2 win at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. It’s the league’s first win since 2012.

Díaz entered this season hitting .244/.299/.384 in his career, but made the All-Star team after hitting a moderately better .277/.328/.435 in the first half. Even so, his numbers hardly stood out among his teammates, and he was facing arguably MLB’s top reliever in Félix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles. Bautista holds a 1.07 ERA, 23 saves and 84 strikeouts in 42 innings this season.

With a 2-2 count, Bautista threw his splitter, against which batters are hitting .143/.196/.179 in 2023, per Baseball Savant — and Díaz took it for a ride