Futures Game ends in a tie

By Dan Hiner

dhiner@vindy.com

Cleveland

Jo Adell struck out swinging, and players on the field looked slightly confused.

No one won the 21st annual All-Star Futures Game at Progressive Field on Sunday Night. The game ended in a 2-2 tie between the American and National Leagues.

A tie in baseball? Yes, a tie.

It was the first tie in the history of the Futures Game.

“It’s not how you draw it up. It’s definitly not how you draw it up,” Lynchburg Hillcats third baseman Nolan Jones said.

“We went out there, we had a lot of fun. Everybody got an opportunity to play. A couple guys did some really cool, special things. It was really fun.”

Jones and Columbus Clippers outfielder Daniel Johnson represented the Cleveland Indians in the game.

Sam Huff tied the game at 2 with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh for the American League. Huff turned on a 1-0 fastball and deposited it over the left-field wall with one out.

Isaac Paredes followed with a double into the right-center field gap and advanced to third on Jarren Duran’s single. However, the American League stranded them.

Both teams went down in order in the top of the eighth.

Pitching had the upper hand early. Neither team recorded a hit through three innings.

“[The pitchers] were throwing hard. They were moving it a lot,” Jones said. “They got one inning. They’re going out there and throwing as hard as they can.”

Jones finished the game 0 for 1 — a groundout to the pitcher — in an American League loss to the National League Sunday night.

The 21-year-old third baseman played one season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. He hit .317 with four home runs and 33 RBIs.

In 77 games with the Lynchburg Hillcats this season, Jones has hit .286 with four home runs and 41 RBIs.

He was recently told that he will get called up to Class AA-Akron.

Jones said the last couple years allowed him to improve at the plate — both literally and in the sports sense.

He said his hitting has improved, but he’s also learned the little things like a proper diet as an athlete.”

“Baseball ... you’re always changing something, and you’re always trying to make something better,” Jones said regarding how his play has changed over the years. “I think that’s what makes this game so fun.

“Obviously when I was in Mahoning Valley, I was 18 years old. Now I’m 21 years old. I’d like to say I’m a little more mature.”

Taylor Trammell and Dylan Carlson put the first runs on the board with RBI singles for the National League.

Wander Franco’s single in the fourth gave the American League its first hit. But Franco was thrown out trying to steal second.

The American League had a chance after a wild pitch by Adrian Morejon moved runners to second and third. But Luis Robert hit a short fly ball to center for the final out of the inning.

League of Their Own

The structure of the Futures Game rosters was changed for the first time in the games history.

For the previous 20 games, players were divided into American and international teams. This year, the teams were split into American and National League.

Cleveland Rocked

Prior to the Futures Game, Progressive Field hosted the annual Celebrity Softball Game.

The rosters featured a Cleveland-filled roster managed by Hall of Famer Jim Thome. The other roster was composed of celebrities from around the country.

The Cleveland team lost 21-16.

Former Indians Kenny Lofton, Hafner and Thome received cheers. But the crowd was loudest during Cleveland Cavalier guard JR Smith’s at-bat.

Prior to his first pitch, Smith took off his shirt — a familiar sight for Clevelanders following the Cavaliers’ NBA title in 2016. He hit an RBI triple and scored while the defenders’ backs were turned.