The Yankees had just scored two runs in the fourth inning to pull ahead of the Oakland Athletics, 4-2, when the sun partially burst through on an overcast afternoon, illuminating the green grass in left field.
Suddenly, the Yankee Stadium public-address announcer, Paul Olden, interrupted the standard in-between innings fare on the center-field scoreboard to announce that left fielder Brett Gardner was headed to the All-Star Game next week in Cincinnati.
Gardner did not acknowledge the impulsive burst of applause and continued to throw warm-up tosses with center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.
After catching the third out in the top of the fifth, he jogged into the dugout and finally engaged in a moment of joy, hugging catcher Brian McCann.