MLB All-Star Game 2015: Winners and Losers from Tuesday Night

The 86th MLB All-Star Game is in the books, and while the pregame ceremonies—which saw the unveiling of each club's "Franchise Four" and appearances by some living legends—upstaged the game itself, we were still treated to plenty of excitement.

In the end, the American League prevailed, 6-3, securing home-field advantage in the World Series for the third consecutive season. Don't get too giddy, though, AL fans—the San Francisco Giants managed to win last year's Fall Classic, despite playing Game 7 on the road.

Beyond the respective leagues, who were the big winners and losers Tuesday night in Cincinnati? Let's run through a handful, keeping in mind that "winners" can come from either side—and, in one case, from a guy who never threw a pitch or took a swing.

Winner: Pete Rose

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Whether Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader, will ever be enshrined in the Hall of Fame remains an open question. His cause wasn't helped by a recent ESPN report that concluded Rose bet on baseball while he was a player as well as a manager, something Rose has repeatedly denied.

Here's what we do know: He's got friends in Cincinnati. 

After he was announced as one of the Reds' "Franchise Four," Rose took the field alongside fellow legends Johnny Bench, Barry Larkin and Joe Morgan to loud and sustained applause.

Few, if any, of those in attendance at Great American Ball Park get to cast a HOF vote. Still, with all of the negative publicity he's endured over the years, that had to be a special moment for one of the game's greatest, most controversial figures. 

Loser: Clayton Kershaw

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

How good has Clayton Kershaw been the last few seasons? He entered the All-Star break leading the league in strikeouts, but it seems like maybe he's fallen off his game.

That's because his WHIP and ERA are both up—not to stratospheric heights, but higher than they were during his run of three Cy Young Awards and an NL MVP in four years.

It was just one frame, at the All-Star Game no less, but the Los Angeles Dodgers lefty did nothing to quell concerns on Tuesday. 

Kershaw coughed up two runs, a walk and three hits in a rocky fifth inning that saw him frequently miss his location.

Is it cause for panic? Hardly.

Is it another reason to wonder if Kershaw is just a tad off? You bet.

Winner: Brian Dozier

John Minchillo/Associated Press

After being left off the initial roster and snubbed in the final fan vote, Brian Dozier finally punched his ticket to Cincinnati as an injury replacement for the Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Bautista. 

The point is he got there, and in his first and only at-bat, the Minnesota Twins second baseman showed why he belonged. 

With the AL already leading 5-2, Dozier deposited a Mark Melancon pitch into the seats for a solo jack, joining Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett as the only Twins to homer in an All-Star Game, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Loser: Bryce Harper

Michael E. Keating/Associated Press

After bowing out of the Home Run Derby, the All-Star Game was Bryce Harper's opportunity to further gild his breakout season.

Instead, the brash Washington Nationals slugger went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.

He's not the only member of the NL squad who struggled at the plate. Collectively, Senior Circuit swingers picked up just six hits against the AL's stable of studs.

But Harper has reached the point where's he's expected to succeed, and when he doesn't—just like when he does—people take notice. 

Harper has been selected to three All-Star teams in his young career, but remains hitless in the Midsummer Classic.

Does that bother him? Not especially, as he discussed with CSN Washington's Mark Zuckerman:

"Of course you want to get a knock in the All-Star Game, and the first one's going to be pretty cool. But all in all, you just try to get your knocks during the season and do your damage there."

Winner: Prince Fielder

Michael E. Keating/Associated Press

Prince Fielder lost his 2014 season to a neck injury, then he got bounced from the Home Run Derby on Monday despite launching 13 first-round bombs. 

So it had to feel mighty sweet to go 1-for-1 with a sacrifice fly and a pair of RBI Tuesday night. No, he didn't take home a second career All-Star Game MVP trophy. But he did provide further notice to the baseball world that he's back in a big way.

Immediately after the game, Fielder told Fox's Erin Andrews that having his kids in attendance was especially gratifying.

"I think they forgot I actually played baseball," he said, seemingly only half-joking. "[Now] they actually believe that I'm still kind of good."

Loser: Francisco Rodriguez

John Minchillo/Associated Press

In addition to Kershaw, Francisco Rodriguez coughed it up for the NL, allowing two runs on a hit and a walk in the seventh.

After the two pitchers' shaky performances, which proved to be the difference in the game, MLB.com's Rich MacLeod offered the following pointed observation: "Clayton Kershaw and Francisco Rodriguez have given up a combined [four earned runs]. Jeurys Familia is not an All-Star. Just sayin'."

Familia, the New York Mets closer, missed the All-Star cut despite a 1.25 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.

We'll never know if he'd have pitched better than K-Rod, but it's doubtful he would have fared worse.

Winner: Aroldis Chapman

John Minchillo/Associated Press

On the opposite end of the closer spectrum, Aroldis Chapman gave the NL easily its best moment of the evening, eclipsing even Jacob deGrom's 10-pitch, three-strikeout showcase.

Pitching in front of an appreciative hometown crowd, the Reds' bullpen ace blazed through his inning of work, striking out the side, sitting in triple digits with his otherworldly fastball and drawing wide-eyed looks of respectful incredulity from both dugouts. 

With the Reds sinking out of the playoff picture in the NL Central, Chapman's name has been floated in trade rumors. Any prospective suitors who watched him deal on Tuesday may already be working the phones. 

Winner: Mike Trout

Michael E. Keating/Associated Press

Mike Trout, the obvious, no-doubt pick for a "winner" slot, opened the game with a solo home run, becoming the first player since Bo Jackson in 1989 to accomplish the feat, per CBS Sports' Matt Snyder. (It must be something about baseball players built like football players.)

Trout later showed off his underrated wheels while scoring a second run and finished 1-for-3 with a walk.

Oh, and he took home his second consecutive All-Star Game MVP Award, plus a brand-new pickup truck for his troubles. 

Here's one more cool tidbit: With his leadoff jack, Trout has now singled in the 2012 All-Star Game, doubled in 2013, tripled in 2014 and gone yard in 2015, per Snyder, a sort of four-year cycle.

"I didn't know that," Trout told Fox's Erin Andrews after the game, "that's pretty cool."

"Pretty cool" doesn't begin to cover it, Mike.

All statistics current as of July 14 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.