Brock Holt Steals Base, Scores Run For AL In All-Star Game
BOSTON (CBS) -- Red Sox utility man Brock Holt made the most of his first All-Star game Tuesday night in Cincinnati.
Holt replaced Mike Trout as a pinch-runner in the seventh inning of the AL's 6-3 win in the 86th All-Star Game, and made his impact on the base paths. He stole second on a delayed steal, an impressive feat with Cardinal's backstop Yadier Molina behind the plate, and then scored an insurance run for the AL on a double by Baltimore's Manny Machado.
"I wasn't planning on stealing the base," Holt said following the win, according to the team's website. "I knew [Francisco Rodriguez] was probably going to go breaking balls in the dirt. I missed one dirt ball right before, so I wanted to be ready for the next one. And Yadi picked it, and luckily I was able to get in there."
Holt, who played seven positions for the Red Sox in the first half -- the first All-Star selection in history to do so, then put in three innings in work in left field. Holt has played 12 games for Boston this season in left, making six starts.
The 27-year-old struck out in his only at-bat of the evening in the top of the ninth, one of three strikeout victims by Reds closer Aroldis Chapman.
"As soon as I made the team, I kind of figured I would face Chapman, and I was trying to get mentally prepared for that about a week ago. But [that] still didn't help me out," said Holt. "I knew I'd probably get an at-bat late and he'd probably be throwing late. [It's] just one of those things. He's not fun to face, but you want to face the best, and he's one of them. It was fun."
For the season, Holt is hitting .292 with a team-leading .372 OBP over 71 games. He's recently played second base for the Red Sox with Dustin Pedroia on the disabled list, but has seen time at every position this season but pitcher and catcher.
