Game of catch

Adam Jones’s fly ball in the eighth inning had gone to right field, after two straight two-strike fouls. His easy sacrifice fly off Heath Bell had enough on it to allow Granderson to mosey on home, the winning run in the American League’s 4-3 decision over the NL. Before that, though, there was a bit of a splash. The Red Sox’ Jonathan Papelbon had yet another heart-stopping moment, allowing a Brad Hawpe drive to left in the seventh inning that game MVP Carl Crawford made a game-saving catch on at the wall, the biggest (and only?) major highlight of the game.

A half inning later, Granderson hit a ball to nearly the same spot. But Justin Upton couldn’t get to it, and as it rattled around Granderson got all the way to third with one out. After a Victor Martinez walk, Jones stepped to the plate, and did his best to ensure a World Series advantage for an AL team that was almost certainly not going to be his own. “Trying my best to,’’ Granderson said when asked if he was thinking triple out of the box. “Depending on where it kicked, I was going to slow it down. I thought it was right at him, and sure enough I saw it kicking away. I said, ‘Hey, I’m going to continue to keep going. I’m not going to stop. Make him make a play.’ ’’

Upton couldn’t, and Granderson eventually scored the tie-breaking, and winning run.

In disappointing 46,760 of St. Louis’s finest, the AL extended its run of dominance yet another year, making it 12-0-1 since 1996. Even with Ryan Howard at the plate with two down in the eighth, the NL couldn’t convert, as Howard struck out to leave runners on the corners.

The game was saved, of course, by Mariano Rivera, and it was won by Papelbon, who managed to convert yet another long-fly-ball situation into a positive.

“It definitely didn’t enter my mind until after my outing was done,’’ Papelbon said. “I said, ‘Wow, I have the chance to be the winning pitcher,’ which is obviously something that is pretty special. Especially for me, because of the guy that closed it. Me being the winning pitcher, and Mo saving that game was pretty neat. Pretty neat and special.

“Those things like that in this game will probably be on top of my memory lists throughout my career, for sure.’’

But even Papelbon didn’t think his big moment was going to be quite as big as it was. Neither, for that matter, did Crawford.

“I thought it was a for-sure out and it kept carrying and carrying, and I said, ‘Wow, this ball is carrying,’ ’’ Papelbon said. “Now it’s going to have a chance to get out.

“That just goes to show you. Defense wins championships, and defense wins All-Star Games too.’’

Crawford’s take on leaping and pulling the ball back: “I thought I had it all the way because I didn’t think it was going to go that far.’’

So Papelbon thanked Crawford, as the left fielder turned the closer’s night from a blown game to a win. The grab was made all the more difficult because Crawford is lefthanded. The next pitch, too, was hit deep to right field, though Papelbon said, “If that one got out, I was going to have them balls checked or something.’’

When Albert Pujols muffed a ball in the first inning, it seemed as if things would not go well for the Cardinals and the NL. Yet again. Pujols was supposed to take center stage in this exhibition, winning the Home Run Derby, winning the All-Star Game for the NL, stopping the streak.

But he couldn’t field a grounder that allowed Mark Teixeira to reach and let Derek Jeter to score the first run of the game. The AL pushed two runs across in an inning in which the NL nearly got a double play three times.

So the NL turned to another Cardinal in the second off Roy Halladay. With David Wright and Shane Victorino on base with two outs, the “Yadi’’ chants to start Yadier Molina’s at-bat gave way to cheers as the catcher singled to bring home Wright. Josh Hamilton added an error of his own, his throw to third landing well off the mark, and bounding into foul territory, letting Victorino score. Molina made it to second, and came home when Prince Fielder doubled down the left-field line.

“I felt pretty good,’’ said Halladay, who had spent his All-Star experience constantly talking about the rumors swirling about his possible trade from the Blue Jays. “I went out and gave it the best I had. With everything going on, it makes it tough. There’s so much more tension.’’

After the NL took a one-run lead, it became obvious that Pujols wasn’t giving up on anything. He made an outstanding play on a ball by Jeter in the fifth, the stop leading to a fielder’s choice. He did it again, too, to end the fifth on a dive and toss to pitcher Chad Billingsley. Minutes earlier, though, the AL had tied the game again on a two-out double to left field by Joe Mauer, which brought in Jeter.

Then the AL broke that tie, giving it a win, and giving home field advantage to the AL. And possibly to the Red Sox.

“This victory is going to help somebody’s ball club in this clubhouse,’’ Papelbon said. “Hopefully it’s ours.’’