Update at 1:22: Rain delay in the middle of the first inning as a steady rain began falling almost immediately after the first pitch.
Pitcher Chris Tillman had a shaky first inning and catcher Tyler Flowers did little to dispell the idea that he will need to eventually move to first base because of defensive and size concerns as he throwing error allows the World to score an unearned run. Alcides Escobar hit a squibber in front of the plate and Flowers made a wide throw to first base as Escobar got to second on the single and error. He eventually scored on Barbaro Canizares‘ grounder. Tillman struggled with his command, walking a batter and throwing a wild pitch.
Update at 2:41p.m.: Still raining and you’ve got to wonder how much longer they will waiting before calling the game. Would MLB risk some of its top prospects being injured ona field so wet that big puddles have formed on the warning track?
Update at 3:45 p.m.: Still raining and the radar shows rain as far away as 90 miles from here. It seems like MLB wants this game to be played, so we’re going to be here for a long time it would seem.
Update at 5:17: Tarp is off, players are warming up and we’re finally going to resume at 5:30.
Update at 5:24: Junichi Tazawa will not pitch after already warming up before the delay. Neftali Felix will be the World’s starter.
Update at 5:39: Well, I can certainly see why the Rangers are excited about what Neftali Feliz can bring to their long-suffering pitching staff. He blew away Eric Young Jr. and Desmond Jennings to start the inning then made some tough pitches to Brett Wallace before walking him on a full count before finishing the inning by getting Chris Carter to hit a soft liner back to the mound. Impressive stuff right there.
Update at 5:45: Kyle Drabek came on for the U.S. and I must admit he was the player I most looked forward to seeing today. The last time I saw Kyle he was 4 years old and running around the home clubhouse at Three Rivers Stadium trying to beat the hell out of his brother when his father, Doug, was pitching for the Pirates. Kyle has grown up to look just like his dad and he pitched like him, too, retiring the side in order, including a punchout of Luis Durango.
Update at 5:59: The sun comes out and another Phillies‘ pitching prospect takes the mound as Yohan Flande enters the game for the Phillies. Though he sounds like an exotic desert, Flande strikes out Pedro Alvarez Flande clearly has a good arm but doesn’t have the good face scouts like to look. He struck out Pedro Alvarez, gave up two singles then got out of the innings by punching out Danny Espinosa.
Update at 6:05: Like fellow Orioles prospect Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz is scored on as he gives up one run. However, he showed damage-control skills but getting Barbaro Canizares to bounce into a double play with runners on the corners and no outs.
Update at 6:28: Eric Young Jr. is supposed to be a speed guy like his father. However, he showed pretty big power by hitting a leadoff home run to center field off Francisco Samuel in the bottom of the third. Samuel also walked two batters before being removed and was charged with two runs. Either Samuel or fellow Cardinals relief prospect Jess Todd is supposedly going to be the player to be named in the deal that landed Mark DeRosa from the Indians. Wonder if Todd is looking more appealilng to Mark Shapiro now?
Update at 6:30: Mat Latos has plenty of tattos but he didn’t get tattooed as he had a quick 1-2-3 inning. Maybe there is hope for the Padres.
Update at 6:39: The Rockies‘ Jhoulys Chacin had a jolly bottom of the fourth by striking two in a scoreless inning and get a nice pick from Cubs second baseman Starlin Castro on a hard one-hopper by Jason Heyward.
Update at 6:51: More hope for the Padres _ well, maybe. Durango bunts for a base hit and steals second despite looking like he had been picked off by Royals pitcher Danny Duffy. Alas, Durango was caught stealing third on a strong throw by Astros catcher Jason Castro.
Update at 7:00: Marlins right fielder Mike Stanton is the most impressive physical specimen in this game at 6-foot-5 and it’s easy to see why he could win a home run title in the major leagues someday. However, the took a funky half-swing at 3-2 pitch from Blue Jays left-hander Luis Perez to strike out in his first plate appearance of the day. This game is only seven innings and I hope Stanton gets one more at-bat. I want to see him again.
Update at 7:01: Castro just blasted a three-run home run to right field off Perez in the bottom of the fifth to put the U.S ahead 5-3. The Astros took a lot of heat for using the No. 10 overall pick in last year’s draft on Castro, a Stanford product, with critics saying they went the signability route. However, Castro is very likely to be the Astros’ opening-day catcher next season and it looks like GM Ed Wade and his scouting staff might have the last laugh.
Update at 7:10: If you’re watching on TV, hopefully you got a good look at Red Sox right-hander Casey Kelly pitch a 1-2-3 top of the sixth. It’s the last time he will pitch this season. After spending the first half of the season pitching for the Red Sox’s full-season Class A Salem and Greenville clubs, Kelly will report to Fort Myers and the Gulf Coast League on Tuesday to begin working out at shortstop. Kelly will finish the season as a shortstop. It’s part of the deal Kelly and the Red Sox struck after he was their first-round draft pick last year, passing up a scholarship to play quarterback at Tennessee. Kelly will be the focus of my On The Beat column on Monday.
Update at 7:20 Astors right-hander Chia-Jen Lo seemed to come unhinged after a throwing error by White Sox third baseman Dayan Viciedo as he walked the next two batters to load the bases. However, he escpaed by striking out Tigers infielder Scott Sizemore to end the inning. If Lo becomes a star in the major leagues, do you suppose the Astros will mark Chia-Jen Heads of Lo?
Update at 7:44 p.m. : Well, the Angels‘ Trevor Reckling had a nightmarish outing and the Pirates’ Brad Lincoln didn’t help matters. Reckling blew the save as he failed to hold the U.S. 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh, being charged for three runs and Lincoln was charged with one run while giving up the go-ahead double to the Twins‘ Rene Tosoni. Tosoni is from Ontario and I had a chance to meet him before the game. He seemed like a really good kid, so good for him to be the hero. There were other big hits, including a double by Viciedo off Lincoln that capped the inning, but I’ve been so long my brain has quit functioning and I can’t remember how the first two runs scored.
Update at 7:47 p.m.: They had the seventh-inning stretch here at Busch Stadium. That brought forth a great question from the Philadelphia Daily News’ Paul Hagen: Would they have still have had the seventh-inning stretch if the U.S. won and there was no bottom of the seventh? That’s a question we might not ever had answered. Or want answered.
Update at 7:: My man Mike Stanton batted again and drew a two-out walk from the Reds‘ J.C. Sulbaran. Sulbaran then walked the Nationals‘ Danny Espinosa to put runners on first and second before getting Jemile Weeks of the A’s to fly to center. Game over, The World triumphs 7-5 on the longest day in baseball history. Good night everybody.
1) Brett Wallace made a couple plays that required movement!
2) Brad Lincoln, Kyle Drabek, and someone else (a pitcher) played frisbee in the outfield during the rain delay. At one point, the 'bee landed on the tarp, so Lincoln took his shoes and socks off to go fetch it.
3) Eric Young's scoreboard bio called him the Rockies' "18th-best prospect."
4) The PA announcer called Neftali Feliz "Feliz Neftali."
It rained. A lot. 4 hours in the Busch Stadium stands is boring (save a frisbee toss between Kyle Drabek and two others). It will also fry your brain making it impossible to make any mental notes or observations about the game. So all I really have to offer is. Nothing.
General comment - why play this game on Sunday during the whole state of MLB games? Why not play it Monday afternoon or Tuesday afternoon so that the kids get the stage to themselves for a bit?
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FYI Jonathan Mayo just tweeted that the milb futures game would not be played tomorrow if it keeps raining like this