NEW YORK — Baseball's All-Stars came to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium — and what a long, long goodbye it was.
In a game that started Tuesday night and faded well into Wednesday, Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young's sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory that extended its unbeaten streak to 12.
Young ended a 4-hour, 40-minute marathon at 1:37 a.m., with the grand old ballpark half-empty. It was a good thing, too — neither team had any pitchers left in the bullpen.
The NL was given a pregame pep talk by Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, whose motto is: "Let's play two!" And they nearly did, matching the longest All-Star game ever.
The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees does not take a day off for the All-Star game.
The Yankee Stadium crowd lustily booed Boston's seven representatives and manager Terry Francona in the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday night, showering the Red Sox with vitriol usually reserved for an important AL East game in September.
No one got it worse than Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who got a harsh welcome when he entered in the eighth. The brash right-hander skirted around whether he or longtime Yankees closer Mariano Rivera should finish the last All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, hinting Monday he wanted the honor then saying Rivera should get the nod.
The reliever's comments led one New York tabloid to splash "Papelbum" across its back page Tuesday.
The crowd of 55,632 chanted "Overrated" with Papelbon on the mound in the eighth, and sounded almost pleased when he allowed Adrian Gonzalez's go-ahead sacrifice fly.
The one Boston player to earn any cheers was J.D. Drew, who tied it at 2 with a two-run homer in the seventh. But Drew heard derisive chants when he entered to play right field in the sixth. He later was awarded the game's MVP award.
At least the Red Sox were on the winning side: Michael Young's 15th-inning sacrifice fly gave the American League the victory.
The AL ran wild on the basepaths, stealing a record six bases in the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. The previous mark also belonged to the AL, which swiped five bags in a 13-8 victory over the National League on July 7, 1998, at Coors Field.