The American League only has five teams with a winning record compared to the National League’s nine at the break, but the AL’s shoddy first half didn’t matter Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
The NL lineup didn’t stand a chance against an overpowering AL pitching staff in the All-Star Game, as the American League won the competition for the 11th time in the past 13 seasons and recorded its first shutout win since 2013.
Here are my takeaways from the AL’s 4-0 win.
1. AL Pitching Dominates
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Shohei Ohtani wasn’t there to lead off for the National League All-Star team after bowing out of the competition to take care of his knee, but there was still enough firepower to expect some fireworks from the superstars throughout the NL lineup Tuesday night.
Instead, the American League pitching staff completely shut them down.
The NL All-Stars struck out 15 times and had just two hits, both singles, when the Rays’ Bryan Baker entered in relief to replace Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the ninth. Otto Lopez followed with a single for the NL’s third hit of the game, but it couldn’t get a rally going as Sal Stewart grounded out to end a feeble evening for the NL squad.
It was a sign of things to come when Dylan Cease struck out three batters in the first. Each of the next nine pitchers who entered for the AL struck out at least one batter. Michael Wacha, Joe Ryan and Cade Smith recorded multiple strikeouts.
Juan Soto, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Lopez were the only NL players to record a hit.
2. Tough Break For Philly Faithful
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The crowd at Citizens Bank Park was rocking Monday night, getting louder with each of Kyle Schwarber’s 11 home runs in the final round of the Home Run Derby. The hometown star looked primed to be the hero of the competition. Instead, through a chorus of boos, the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker flipped the script and left the Philadelphia faithful stunned.
One night later, it didn’t get any better for the hometown crowd.
The Phillies led all teams with six representatives in the All-Star Game and had ace Cristopher Sánchez on the mound to start the game, a decision made easier after Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski bowed out of the competition. Sánchez was the first Phillies pitcher since Roy Halladay in 2011 to start the All-Star Game, but the American League lineup did not care to appease the hometown crowd as they plated three runs against Sánchez via three singles and two walks in the first inning to jump out to an early advantage.
Those were the only runs of the game until White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas, one of 36 first-time All-Stars in the competition, went deep off former Dodgers teammate Justin Wrobleski in the eighth to add to the American League lead. Phillies hitters Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh combined to go hitless on the night, though Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo did throw a scoreless inning of relief.
3. Rays Appear To Avoid Disaster
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This week in Philadelphia could have been the Junior Caminero national showcase. He ended the first half on fire, homering 13 times in his final 19 games before the break, and entered the Home Run Derby as one of the favorites. But he failed to make it out of the second round of the Derby on Monday.
And one day later, disaster nearly struck.
Cardinals reliever Riley O’Brien went up and in with a 97.6 mph sinker that caught Caminero in the left hand in the top of the third inning. The Rays star third baseman immediately fell to the ground and stayed down for a while before getting up and going straight to the tunnel.
Thankfully, X-rays came back negative. Caminero told reporters afterward that he expects to be fine, but his health is something to monitor for a Rays team that is currently holding off the Yankees atop the AL East.
And speaking of the pinstripes…
4. Led By MVP Bellinger, Yankees Show Out
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With Aaron Judge injured, it has been tough for the Yankees to get their offense going over the last few weeks. Dating back to June 20, they rank 28th in MLB in runs scored and 29th in OPS.
At the All-Star Game, though, their reps had no problem generating offense. A hard-hit grounder up the middle from Cody Bellinger plated the first two runs of the game off Sánchez in the first inning. One batter later, Ben Rice followed with a nearly identical hit to knock in another run.
Bellinger was heating up entering the break, going 7-for-16 with two doubles in his final four games of the first half, and has been one of the best offseason (re)signings in baseball. Rice, meanwhile, has the second-highest slugging percentage and third-highest OPS in MLB this year. But he also is hitting .279 this season, and he used his contact skills in a triumphant first All-Star Game.
Cody Bellinger Receives 2026 MLB All-Star MVP 🏆
