Vogt samples AL East's All-Star arms
CINCINNATI -- Chris Archer's slider, Zach Britton's sinker, Dellin Betances' fastball -- Stephen Vogt sampled some of the American League East's top arms on Tuesday night.
Vogt entered the 2015 All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile in the bottom of the fifth and caught three innings of the AL's 6-3 victory over the National League at Great American Ball Park. The A's catcher took over for starter Salvador Perez of the Royals, and the first-time All-Star did an admirable job receiving a trio with some of the most electric stuff in baseball.
:: Complete All-Star Game coverage ::"I enjoyed it," Vogt said of his first All-Star Game. "I think I did everything I would have liked to do, and it was a lot of fun."
It was Archer to Vogt with a 87-mph slider that struck out Dodgers rookie slugger Joc Pederson in the fifth. It was Britton to Vogt pumping in mid-90s two-seamers en route to a strikeout of Nationals MVP candidate Bryce Harper in the sixth. It was Betances to Vogt touching 99 mph vs. the Giants' Joe Panik in the seventh before striking him out on a curve in the dirt, a pitch Vogt blocked.
Of course, Vogt didn't catch Oakland teammate and fellow All-Star Sonny Gray. Gray -- who is 10-3 with 108 strikeouts and an AL-leading 2.04 ERA -- started for the A's on Sunday, so he couldn't pitch in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic. Gray did attend the game, doffing his cap to the crowd in the pregame roster announcements with the rest of baseball's best players.
Video: 2015 ASG: A's Vogt, Gray introduced at All-Star Game
"It was something that I'm really, really glad I got to experience and something that I wish I could do a lot more," said Gray, a first-time All-Star. "When the game started, I kind of wanted to get out there, for sure, but I knew going in it wasn't going to happen. It was just nice to come away with the win for the American League."
Vogt, who is batting .287 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs on the season, was selected to the squad by manager Ned Yost. He struck out swinging in his only plate appearance, but so did everyone else who faced the Mets' Jacob deGrom, who fanned the side on 10 pitches, sitting in the upper-90s. But the catcher brings more to the table than his bat.
Video: 2015 ASG: Archer whiffs Pederson in the 5th inning
Archer, the first pitcher Vogt caught, is a former teammate of the A's backstop. Vogt started his career with the Rays in 2012, when Archer was also a Tampa Bay rookie, but Tuesday was the first time Vogt caught the right-hander.
Britton, the Orioles' closer, relieved Archer with one out in the sixth and pitched two-thirds of an inning before Yankees' fireballer Betances took over in the bottom of the seventh.
Once his night finished, Vogt thought back to how it started.
"Opening ceremonies today, I got very emotional on the line," Vogt said. "Kind of reminded me of my debut and getting announced on the line back in 2012 with Tampa. You hear the names and you're like, 'What the hell am I doing here?'"
He -- and Gray -- deserved to be.