Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
For the third time in the 15-game history of the series, the American League posted a third straight win in the 1948 All-Star Game.
And they did it with little help from three of their key players.
Detroit Tigers third baseman George Kell was voted into the AL starting lineup, but he missed the game entirely due to injury. And injuries to outfielders Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox and Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees limited the perennial starters to pinch-hitting duties.
Things looked even worse for the AL in the top of the first when Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, playing in the Sportsman's Park home of the cross-town rival Browns, hit a two-run homer off AL starter Walt Masterson of the Washington Senators.
However, the American League rallied to tie the game off National League starter Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers with single runs in the second and third.
Detroit's Hoot Evers, who started in center for DiMaggio, put the AL on the board with a home run in the second. Cleveland shortstop Lou Boudreau tied the game an inning later with a sacrifice fly.
The AL then broke the tie with three runs in the fifth en route to a 5-2 victory and its 11th win in 15 All-Star Games.
Cleveland Indians third baseman Ken Keltner and Yankees first baseman George McQuinn started the decisive rally with back-to-back, one-out singles off Chicago Cubs reliever Johnny Schmitz, who then walked Red Sox catcher Birdie Tebbetts to load the bases.
Although AL manager Bucky Harris of the Yankees had both Williams and DiMaggio available to pinch-hit, he decided to let Yankees pitcher Vic Raschi, who finished with a .184 career batting average, hit for himself with the bases loaded and one out.
Raschi hit a two-run, tie-breaking single to left off Schmitz. DiMaggio was then called upon to hit for Tigers' right fielder Pat Mullin and delivered a sacrifice fly to drive in Tebbetts with the game's final run.
Raschi also pitched three shutout innings to get credit for the win. Joe Coleman of the Philadelphia Athletics closed out the win with three hitless innings. Ewell "The Whip" Blackwell of the Cincinnati Reds also worked three scoreless innings at the end of the game for the National League.
Musial and McQuinn were the only players in the game with two hits.