Mariano Rivera (Paul J. Bereswill)
New York’s baseball teams — and Flushing’s Citi Field — gave Tuesday night’s Major League All Star Game a slight boost in the ratings department.
The game, a 3-0 American League victory, featured some first-inning heroics from Mets pitching phenom Matt Harvey — and was capped by an emotional 8th inning sendoff to retiring Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera, who trotted onto the field to a standing ovation from fans and players alike and pitched flawlessly.
The game snared 11 million viewers on Fox, up 1 percent from last year’s midsummer classic (10.9 million viewers).
And, as expected, viewership in New York City was up 16 percent over last year.
But the game pulled its biggest rating in Detroit — not surprising, considering that six Tigers made the All Star Team — including slugger Miguel Cabrera and pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
The American League’s victory ensures that this fall’s World Series will open in an American League park.