American League All-Stars at National League All-Stars
Tue Jul 14 · 7:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 7h ago·2 min read
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The Midsummer Classic lands at Citizens Bank Park with a home-city hero added to the lineup and three of the sport's biggest stars watching from the sideline.
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Early moneyline money is treating the National League as the mild favorite even with Ohtani scratched, and that tracks — the NL still has Freeman, Sale and a hometown boost from Harper giving it the deeper top-end resume. The AL's own star power took a bigger hit with Judge, Trout and Buxton all compromised, thinning out the group that would normally make this a real coin flip.
All-Stars
+Mike Trout voted in as starter, chasing first ASG since 2019
+Ernie Clement led all of MLB in fan voting
+AL still leads the all-time series 48-44-2
−Judge (rib) and Trout (hamstring) both compromised
−Buxton also scratched with a reaggravated hip issue
−Roster leans thinner on marquee star power this year
All-Stars
+Bryce Harper added as hometown Legend Pick
+Chris Sale and Freddie Freeman bring 19 combined prior selections
+NL has won 2 of the last 3 Midsummer Classics
−Ohtani scratched with left knee inflammation
−Skenes pulled off the active roster before pitching
−Multiple in-season replacements have reshuffled the staff
Rosters for Tuesday's game are set, but the pitching plans are still the loosest part of the puzzle. Both managers will lean on a parade of arms rather than a true starter, mixing in aces for an inning or two before turning things over — expect the announced 'starters' to look more like ceremonial first arms than a real Game 1 workload.
The bigger story is who's not throwing or swinging at all. Aaron Judge is out with a rib injury, Shohei Ohtani was scratched with left knee inflammation, and Mike Trout — voted in as a starter and chasing his first All-Star appearance since 2019 — is dealing with a hamstring issue that has his availability in doubt even after making the trip. Byron Buxton was also pulled with a reaggravated hip impingement. That's a lot of star wattage missing from a game that's supposed to be the showcase.
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Philadelphia gets a nice consolation prize in Bryce Harper, added as Commissioner Rob Manfred's 'Legend Pick' for the hometown crowd after finishing second in the fan vote. He joins a National League pitching staff fronted by Chris Sale, in for his 10th career selection, and a lineup anchored by 10-time All-Star Freddie Freeman — the kind of resume depth that's helped the NL take two of the last three of these games even as the American League still holds the all-time series edge.
American League All-Stars
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
National League All-Stars
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes was actually pulled off the NL roster after making it, with the league citing his regular turn for the Pirates on July 12 as the reason he won't be available Tuesday — Braxton Ashcraft, Jesus Luzardo and Riley O'Brien slid in as pitching replacements. On the AL side, Ernie Clement led all players in fan voting and Ceddanne Rafaela steps in for Judge, giving the junior circuit a scrappier, less star-driven look than usual.
None of that changes what these games always come down to: a night of showcase at-bats, quick pitching changes, and a lineup card that's more all-star selfie than strategy session. With this much firepower compromised on both sides, don't expect a laugher — expect exactly the kind of tight, bullpen-driven finish that sent last year's game to a swing-off.
