AL Run Continues With Marathon

Milwaukee's Cory Hart got under the ball in medium right field and uncorked a weak, bouncing throw to the plate that nonetheless nearly got Morneau, who slid just under McCann's tag.

"It was like I was running in quicksand," Morneau said. "I just barely got in there."

The NL, behind Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook, pulled off a pair of dazzling escapes in the bottom of the 10th ,11th and 12th innings, all of them featuring an AL runner on third base with less than two outs -- including a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 10th.

"I thought for sure we were going to score with the bases loaded and no outs," Sherrill said. "

Defense saved the NL each time -- a frantic charge-and-throw by shortstop Miguel Tejada, a game-saving throw to nail a runner at home plate by center fielder Nate McLouth, a couple of nifty plays by Washington's Cristian Guzman, a shortstop who played out of position at third base for seven innings. On the other hand, Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla committed three errors to help put the NL in those binds to begin with.

Rendered moot, but in a delicious way, was all that speculation about whether Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona, the AL's skipper, would use Yankees legend Mariano Rivera or his own Jonathan Papelbon to close the historic game.

It was a tie game in the eighth inning when Papelbon entered--to a chorus of boos from the sell-out crowd of 55,632, followed by derisive chants ("Ma-ri-a-no!" and "Ov-er-ra-ted!") -- and thanks to his blown save, it was a one-run lead for the NL by the time Papelbon exited. Tejada led off with a single, stole second, went to third on a throwing error by catcher Navarro and scored on Adrian Gonzalez's sacrifice fly.

Rivera, who was warming up as the AL tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on Longoria's RBI double off Billy Wagner, still got his moment, of course.

There was one out, one on in the ninth when the doors to the bullpen opened, separating the panels of an advertisement for a Japanese newspaper, and onto the playing field jogged Rivera, holding his black glove in his throwing hand. His heavy-metal entrance music was nearly drowned by the applause that had begun to swell the moment Francona emerged from the dugout to bring him in.

Before the game, there was the pregame, and it is a tossup as to which was treated with greater importance.

The pregame ceremony summoned every remaining ounce of romanticism the old ballyard could muster, with the starters joined at their positions by 49 living Hall of Famers -- the loudest ovations saved for the current and former greats wearing Yankee caps, the only boos reserved for members of the Red Sox and Mets -- and a surprise appearance at the end by George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' ailing, 78-year-old owner, who appeared to be crying as he was wheeled in on a golf cart, his first appearance at the stadium this year.

Steinbrenner hugged ex-Yankees Goose Gossage, Reggie Jackson, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra, who then gathered in front of the mound and threw ceremonial first pitches to current Yankees Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Rivera and Manager Joe Girardi.

"That was a special moment," Rodriguez said. "New York really knows how to do it right."

New York indeed did it right, even if it did not know exactly when enough was enough and served as the perfect appetizer for a game that seemed like it would never end, as if something or somebody wanted Yankee Stadium to keep its doors open a little while longer.