In a grim Rockies season, Elías Díaz provides a massive All-Star Game moment

Until the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night, almost nothing went right in this disaster of a season for the Colorado Rockies. Catcher Elías Díaz changed that.

The only Rockies player selected for the Midsummer Classic parked a 2-2 splitter from Orioles pitcher Felix Bautista over the left-field fence at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. His 2-run blast gave the National League a 3-2 eighth-inning lead.

Elias Díaz just flipped this #AllStarGame on its head! pic.twitter.com/a676EZsZ53

— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2023

Díaz, who has 9 home runs this season, entered as a pinch hitter. Atlanta’s Sean Murphy and Los Angeles’ Will Smith, the other two catchers for the National League, handled backstop chores during the game’s first seven innings.

The 32-year-old’s heroics put him on track to become the first All-Star Game MVP in Rockies history — if the National League could hold on.

“It means a lot to me, to my family. I’m so proud,” Díaz said during a dugout interview on the Fox broadcast.

“Being in the All-Star Game, for me, it was amazing.”

It was also amazing for the Rockies. Díaz became the first catcher in the team’s 31-season history to earn an All-Star selection. And with one swing, he gave the Rockies and their fans a reason to rejoice in a season otherwise flooded with woe.

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