Bay Area baseball fans were treated to a brief head-to-head matchup during Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium.
A’s right-hander and Brentwood native Paul Blackburn faced off against Giants outfielder and Palo Alto native Joc Pederson with two outs and a runner on in the bottom of the fourth. Blackburn eventually punched out Pederson with a high fastball as A’s fans can hold Bay Area All-Star Game bragging rights for another year.
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke to Blackburn and Pederson after their respective evenings in Los Angeles.
“I faced (Pederson) already this year so I knew how my stuff played and how to attack him,” Blackburn told Shea. “I knew he was gonna be swinging. He hits balls a long way. Anytime I see Joc, I think of Palo Alto. Just one of those Bay Area things.”
The 925 got the 650 on Tuesday night.
It marked the second straight Midsummer Classic that an A’s pitcher retired a Giants player, as Chris Bassitt got Brandon Crawford to fly out last year. The last time a Giants pitcher faced an A’s batter in the All-Star Game? You have to go back to 1993, when A’s catcher Terry Steinbach banged an RBI double off the right-field wall against Giants closer Rod Beck, before getting caught between second and third in a pickle.
Blackburn, who was designated for assignment by the A’s in February 2021 and went unclaimed by the entire league, also retired Dodgers spark plug Trea Turner and Cardinals legend Albert Pujols, in likely his final All-Star at-bat. Blackburn admitted he had big nerves before his outing, but the 28-year-old looked sharp and even overcame an error by third baseman Jose Ramírez.
Pederson started the game in left field and got a solid reception from the Dodger Stadium crowd despite being on the rival Giants. Joc became a fan favorite during his time in LA from 2014-20 and helped them win a World Series in his final year there.
Pederson played five innings and also struck out against Toronto Blue Jays righty Alek Manoah in the second inning.
Fellow Giants All-Star Carlos Rodón got the boo treatment from Dodger Stadium, as expected.
Unlike Pederson, Rodón doesn’t have seven seasons of goodwill and a ring built up with the fans, so you figured he wouldn’t get a warm welcome. The Giants and Dodgers will kick off the "second half" with a four-game series starting on Thursday night in Chavez Ravine.
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