Liam Hendriks would have had a clean inning if not for Charlie Blackmon.
The A's closer came on in the top of the sixth inning of the 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field on Tuesday night and struck out the side. The only problem being, he allowed a home run in between.
Hendriks struck out Chicago's Kris Bryant and Colorado's Trevor Story to start off the inning, but on a 1-0 pitch, Blackmon took Hendriks deep and deposited a solo home run in the right-field bleachers for the National League's first run of the evening.
The long ball didn't seem to throw Hendriks off his game, however, as he followed it up by striking out Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso on four pitches. He then departed the game, with the American League holding a 2-1 lead.
AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!
OUT! OUT! OUT!#RootedInOakland | #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/d5SiKeAq1W — Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 10, 2019
That remained the score until the bottom of the seventh, when Oakland's other All-Star representative came around to score. A's third baseman Matt Chapman replaced Houston's Alex Bregman when Hendriks came on to pitch, and he got his first at-bat in the bottom of the seventh against Milwaukee's Brandon Woodruff, earning a walk after seven pitches.
Sports
[RELATED: Chapman loses to Vlad Jr. in first-round of 2019 HR Derby]
Chapman went first-to-third on James McCann's single in the next at-bat, after which Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play, scoring Chapman from third. Following a pitching change, Texas' Joey Votto clobbered a solo home run to provide the decisive run of the night, as the American League held on through the final innings for a 4-3 victory.
