(JTA) — In a baseball All-Star game that set a record for home runs, Alex Bregman had the most important one.
Bregman, the Jewish third baseman for the Houston Astros, snapped a 10th-inning tie with his two-run shot to power the American League to an 8-6 victory over the National League on July 17 in Washington, D.C.
Playing in his first All-Star game, the third-year major leaguer was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. He is the first Jewish player to win the award since it was instituted in 1962.
Bregman’s home run off Ross Stripling of the Los Angeles Dodgers gave his side a 7-5 lead.
The 24-year-old said he “was just trying to put a line drive in play and it left the yard.”
“It was crazy. A lot of fun,” he was quoted as saying by ESPN.
His Astros teammate George Springer followed with another homer off Stripling.
The game featured 10 home runs, easily surpassing the record of six set in 1951 and tied in 1954 and 1971. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the American League.
Bregman had appeared in the July 16 Home Run Derby but was knocked out in the first round. He has 20 home runs this season after hitting 19 all of last year.
His Astros won the World Series last season over the Dodgers in seven games, and Bregman also was a member of the U.S. team that took the World Baseball Classic title in 2017.
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