Red Sox: Mookie Betts makes All-Star Game impact with his glove

Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts showed off his cannon arm to turn a double-play in the fourth inning of the 2017 MLB All-Star Game.

There’s more than one way that Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts can make his mark on a game. The National League team found that out the hard way during Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game.

A glance at the box score would suggest that Betts had a rather uneventful night. He started the game buried at the bottom of the line, where he went 0-for-2 in his only plate appearances. Betts grounded out to first base in the third inning and flew out to center in the fifth. He was able to make some hard contact but would end up with nothing to show for it.

That doesn’t mean that Betts wasn’t able to make his presence felt.

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Defense is one of the staples of the five-tool player’s game and Betts reminded the national audience of why he’s a Gold Glove winner. Since the American League starting lineup featured no natural center fielders, Betts was asked to slide over to cover center. He hadn’t played the position in nearly two years, yet managed to seamlessly adapt to patrolling the spacious center field of Marlins Park.

One of the top plays of the game came in the fourth inning when Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman launched a fly ball to deep center field. Betts raced back to the warning track to make the catch, then fired a laser to second base to nail Nolan Arenado for the double-play.

Clearly the Colorado Rockies third baseman hasn’t seen enough of Mookie Betts, otherwise he would have known better than to test his arm.

Betts entered the break with a major league-leading 20 defensive runs saved. His four outfield assists ties him for only 13th in the AL, although that number would certainly be higher if most teams hadn’t learned not to run on him. Last season Betts was second in the league with 14 outfield assists.

The double-play turned by Betts was a potential turning point in the game. Had Arenado been safe at second it would have given the NL a runner in scoring position with only one out. We’ll never know if they would have been able to drive Arenado home, yet every scoring chance counted in a game that ended up going to extra-innings.

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The trio of Red Sox players who participated in the All-Star Game weren’t able to produce any runs for the AL squad in their 2-1 victory. They did get two scoreless innings from Chris Sale to begin the game and a roller coaster ninth inning from Craig Kimbrel, who earned the win. Betts aided the run prevention with his spectacular defense, proving his bat isn’t the only way he can help his team win.