DETROIT – As Mike Piazza left last night’s All-Star Game, the Mets catcher took a moment to reflect.
Sporting dwindling numbers that haven’t lived up to his own expectations this season, Piazza nevertheless was selected to his 12th All-Star Game. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and exited for Florida catcher Paul Lo Duca in the fifth inning.
In the final year of a seven-year, $91 million contract, Piazza hasn’t committed to playing next year. He isn’t sure where his future lies with the Mets, but he said he isn’t worried about that for the moment.
“Right before I went in the tunnel, I kind of looked around and let it soak in a little bit,” Piazza said. “I can’t say how fortunate I’ve been. “If this happens to be the last, so be it. But it’s been an amazing ride for me.”
Piazza said he wanted to catch longtime nemesis Roger Clemens after their disastrous experience in last year’s All-Star Game in Houston, when Clemens allowed six first-inning runs. But when Clemens came in to pitch the fifth, Lo Duca replaced Piazza.
On the Yankees’ side, Alex Rodriguez singled to left in his first at-bat and walked in the third, later scoring on Miguel Tejada’s groundout. After the first-inning single, Rodriguez took off for second as David Ortiz lashed a single to right and wound up at third, but A-Rod was stranded.
The wildest moment of the night for New York’s All-Star contingent came when Carlos Beltran was nearly hit in the foot by Bartolo Colon’s pickoff attempt. After hitting an infield single to second base in the fourth, Beltran sprinted from first to third when a Colon throw to first bounced past Mark Teixeira and toward the first-base seats.
Beltran, who started in left field, grounded into a double play and struck out to finish 1-for-3.
Piazza whiffed against White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle in the second and grounded out to second to end the fourth.
Gary Sheffield grounded into a double play in the sixth.
Mariano Rivera struck out Morgan Ensberg on four pitches to end the game and pick up the save.