with giant decal for the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Umpires Starting lineups Game summary A superchoir consisting of three choirs from
Windsor, Ontario, sang "
O Canada", the Canadian National Anthem. Then, a moment of silence for the victims of the
July 7 London bombings, which took place a few days before the game, followed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Brass Players' performance of "
God Save the Queen", the national anthem of the
United Kingdom.
Brian McKnight sang
The Star-Spangled Banner, the U.S. National Anthem. The colors presentation was by the
Camp Grayling color guard, accompanied by
University of Toledo ROTC officers who presented the flags in the outfield. In the first inning, starters
Mark Buehrle and
Chris Carpenter each induced a double play, from
Carlos Beltrán and
Manny Ramírez respectively, to end early threats. The American League would score in the bottom of the second, when the game's
MVP,
Miguel Tejada, crushed a shot off
John Smoltz to give the AL a 1–0 lead. The AL would score two more in the third, on the strength of a
David Ortiz RBI single, and an RBI groundout by Tejada, his second RBI in as many innings. The NL wasted a scoring opportunity in the top of the fourth, when with two runners on,
Aramis Ramírez grounded into a double play to end that threat. In the bottom of that inning,
Ichiro Suzuki hit a broken-bat, bloop single to score two, but was then picked off first base by
Liván Hernández. Then, in the bottom of the sixth,
Mark Teixeira, a switch-hitter, hit an opposite field, two-run homer off
Dontrelle Willis, his first home run off a left-hander that season, opening the AL's lead to 7–0. During the
seventh-inning stretch,
The Winans sang
God Bless America. The NL finally got on the board in the next inning, when
Andruw Jones launched a two-run shot just inside the foul pole off
Kenny Rogers to close the NL to within five. They scored another run in the eighth, when
Moisés Alou scored on an RBI forceout by
Miguel Cabrera. In the top of the ninth,
Luis Gonzalez scored Andruw Jones with a double off of Baltimore closer
B.J. Ryan, and then scored himself on an RBI groundout by
Carlos Lee.
Mariano Rivera then came on to stop the NL's potential rally. Rivera struck out
Morgan Ensberg to end the threat, and the game, securing a 7–5 win for the AL. Hall-of-Famer and former Tigers outfielder
Al Kaline joined the
ceremonial first pitch ceremonies. Prior to the game,
Taco Bell sponsored a Pitch for a Million Dollars contest. The contestant Frank Nelson was chosen randomly from people who had attended and submitted their name at the local
All-Star Game events held in Detroit in the weeks prior. The contestant Frank Nelson would have to pitch 5 balls through a hole in 30 seconds from the mound to the
home plate.
Taco Bell informed him the Tuesday prior to the Game and made him sign an agreement to not practice the day of and could only receive verbal coaching from his coach
Mark "The Bird" Fidrych. The size of the hole was also reduced due to someone winning it previously. He was only able to pitch one thorough the hole within the 30 seconds, so he received the Runner up prize of $5.00 each week towards
Taco Bell for a year. ==Home Run Derby==