(Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles)
Cedric Mullins became just the second Orioles player to start an All-Star Game in center field, continuing his remarkable 2021 season in the American League’s 5-2 win at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday night.
Having replaced the injured Mike Trout in the starting lineup in his All-Star debut, the 26-year-old Mullins went 0-for-2 and reached on a slow grounder bobbled by San Francisco shortstop Brandon Crawford that was ruled an error in the fifth inning. Mullins would score the fourth run of the game on a single by Boston’s Xander Bogaerts as the Junior Circuit won its eighth straight Midsummer Classic, a streak dating back to 2013. Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes struck out Mullins in his first at-bat in the third inning.
The first Oriole to start in center field for the AL since Adam Jones in 2014, Mullins handled his only defensive chance with a putout in the third inning and was replaced by Texas’ Adolis Garcia in the sixth.
The speedy Baltimore center fielder also continued to show his support for teammate Trey Mancini a night after cheering on the Orioles first baseman to a second-place finish in a very entertaining Home Run Derby. During the annual “Stand Up To Cancer” tribute in the middle of the game, Mullins held up a sign honoring Mancini, who missed the 2020 season while battling stage 3 colon cancer.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who also held up a Mancini sign during the tribute, was named All-Star Game MVP after hitting a 468-foot home run off Burnes in the third and driving in another run with a grounder in the fifth.
Mullins, Mancini, and the 28-61 Orioles resume the second half of the season with a three-game series in Kansas City beginning Friday night.
