ARLINGTON, Texas — It was about as jarring a sight as possible for Padres fans.
Jurickson Profar crossed home plate and then waited to congratulate National League teammate Shohei Ohtani.
“He was on my team for today,” said Profar, who smiled wide as he exuberantly slapped his hands against Ohtani’s after the Dodgers star’s third-inning blast. “It was great to see him hit a homer for my team and not against me. … I want to win this game.”
The NL would not score after Ohtani’s three-run homer, however, and the American League came back to win the MLB All-Star game 5-3 on Tuesday night at Globe Life Field.
Jarren Duran of the Red Sox provided the deciding runs with a two-run homer off the Reds’ Hunter Greene in the fifth inning.
That was after both teams scored three runs in the third.
It was Ohtani, the Dodgers designated hitter, who provided a moment that made headlines from Los Angeles to Tokyo by hitting his first All-Star game home run.
But it was Profar who began the National League’s assault on Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck with a single lined down the right field line.
“That felt really good,” Profar said. “It felt like something I was doing regularly for my own team – start an inning right there.”
A single by Arizona’s Ketel Marte moved Profar to second before Ohtani sent a ball 400 feet to right field to put the NL up 3-0.
A two-run double by the Yankees’ Juan Soto and a pinch-hit RBI single by David Fry of the Guardians off Giants pitcher Logan Webb tied the game.
In Profar’s next at-bat, he grounded out against White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet.
“He’s nasty,” Profar said. “I was bummed to not get a hit right there.”
Padres closer Robert Suarez retired the two batters he faced in the seventh inning.
Rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill lined out to left field in the seventh and reached on a dribbled single in the ninth.
“I smoked the first one,” Merrill said. “The second one, I felt like I deserved it.”
Luis Arraez, the other Padres player who was in Texas, departed early in the game for his home in Miami since his injured thumb prevented him from playing. Suarez, Profar and Merrill and their families and other members of the Padres traveling party took a chartered flight back to San Diego.
“Now the focus turns to the second half for our team,” Profar said.
Both of the Padres’ everyday players said they were motivated to make sure their first All-Star game was not their last.
“It was a great experience,” Profar said. “I’m going to try to do it every year. It gave me a push to keep working and trying to get better.”
Merrill, whose every word is generally about winning, was able to relax a bit Tuesday.
“Just taking in the experience,” he said of what he enjoyed most about the two days spent mingling with the game’s best players. “It was the one time I don’t have to stay so locked in on a win. I love winning. I wanted to win today. But it’s the All-Star game; you gotta take it all in.”
He also enthusiastically talked of returning.
“If I’m playing good enough and I’m in the All-Star game, our team is probably winning,” Merrill said. “The first spot, I was playing really good and got here by doing that, and we were winning a lot of games. I just have to play kind of like a second-half All-Star now and try to help the team as much as possible so we can dominate.”
