Game: National League vs. American League
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Odds: NL -108, AL -108
Total: 7
The Midsummer Classic is the most thrilling game of the entire MLB season. The competition pits the best players from all 30 teams against one another to determine which league is superior. Seattle’s T-Mobile Park will serve as the site of this year’s All-Star Game.
The moneyline odds are even, but the AL may have an advantage. The last nine All-Star Games have been won by the American League. The last time the NL won, Melky Cabrera was named the MVP at Kauffman Stadium in 2012.
Gerrit Cole and Zac Gallen have been selected as the starting pitchers for their respective leagues. It’s a great honor to start the All-Star game, but both starters will only pitch one inning.
The National League has the better overall lineup, but like the pitchers, the starters will probably only hit twice at the most before being replaced.
The Texas Rangers makeup half of the American League lineup, while the National League has one of the most stacked lineups ever seen. There is potential .400 hitter Luis Arraez to 40-70 threat Ronald Acuna Jr. to one of the best first basemen in MLB history in Freddie Freeman. The AL has an advantage in pitching, but that’s because guys like Spencer Strider, Clayton Kershaw, and Marcus Stroman all opted out of tonight’s game.
The All-Star Game has historically had very little scoring. The American League triumphed in 2022 by a score of 3-2, cashing in on the under. With a larger sample size, an All-Star Game’s average run total during the AL’s 9-year winning streak is 6.89. That would be just below the total of seven for this year.
Ten of the previous 14 All-Star games have ended with seven or fewer runs. The only All-Star game to go over ten runs during that span was the 2018 game which ended up with 14 runs scored. With the best pitchers in baseball on the mound tonight, scoring runs will be difficult.
Last year, the AL won 3-2. In 2021, the AL scored a 5-2 victory. The game was not played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been 3-0, 2-1, and 4-3 games over the last nine All-Star games. History is definitely on the side of the Under.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won last night’s Home Run Derby. He won the MVP of the 2021 All-Star game. Guerrero will be a reserve for the AL tonight. Starting in the outfield for the AL will be Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena, who lost to Guerrero in the final of the Home Run Derby.
Giancarlo Stanton was last year’s game MVP. He did not make the roster this year. His teammate Aaron Judge was elected a starter, but he won’t play due to injury. The Angels Mike Trout was also elected a starter, but he will also miss the game because of an injury.
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