Crawford's All-Star start 'everything I expected'

Brandon Crawford has started in 11 World Series games, two postseason Game 7s and the World Baseball Classic for Team USA. On Tuesday, he added another accolade to that impressive list.
At Nationals Park, where the Giants played the first two games of the 2014 National League Division Series en route to their most recent World Series title, Crawford started at shortstop for the NL in the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. He went 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts in the NL's 8-6, 10-inning loss.
"It's fun being out there," Crawford said of his first career All-Star start. "It's exciting. It's everything I expected."
Crawford, batting eighth in manager Dave Roberts' lineup, stepped in against Yankees ace Luis Severino with Matt Kemp on second in the second inning. The Giants shortstop jumped ahead in the count, 3-1, but Severino battled back to strike out Crawford swinging.
He came up again with two outs in the fourth inning and worked another full count, this time against Tigers right-hander Joe Jiménez. Crawford spoiled a pair of 3-2 pitches before he was caught looking on a back-door breaking ball.
"There were some big arms, I think, on both sides," Crawford said. "A few guys just connected. I think that's going to happen when you have a lot of power arms and power bats."
A three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Crawford did not receive any action in the field. His second career All-Star appearance ended when the shortstop was replaced by Trevor Story in the sixth inning.
Crawford joined Rich Aurilia ('01) and Chris Speier ('73) as the only Giants to start the All-Star Game at shortstop since the organization moved to San Francisco. In franchise history, only seven Giants shortstops have been elected to the All-Star Game.
"Just being here and being with the best players in baseball," Crawford said when asked for his favorite part of the All-Star Game. "The whole experience."
Joining Crawford for his second All-Star experience were his wife Jalynne and their four children, including son Bryson, who was born June 18.

Crawford entered the All-Star break slashing .292/.363/.462, each a career high if the season ended today. His 353 RBIs since 2014 are the most by any shortstop, a number that's only going to grow the rest of the season.
"I try to take every day of the season kind of day by day," Crawford said on his preparation for the second half. "I try not to think about it a whole lot. I know a lot of people kind of break up the first half [and] second half, but I try not to do that. I'm always trying to go out there and play my best game, and go out and compete and win."
Catcher Buster Posey was selected by player vote to his sixth All-Star Game but did not travel to Washington, opting to receive a cortisone injection in his ailing right hip.