2014 MLB All-Star Game: Start Time, Lineups, Pitching Matchup, TV Coverage

The 85th Annual MLB All-Star Game

National League vs American League

Pre-game ceremonies: 7:30 p.m ET. First pitch: 8ish ET

Target Field — Minneapolis, MN

TV: Fox

Weather: 70 degrees, partly cloudy

FanSided

Game Preview

The battle for home field in the 2014 World Series boils down to this…I’ll wait til you stop sighing and slowly shaking your head to continue…..

There we go, on with the 85th Annual All-Star Game preview.

The Detroit Tigers will have three All-Stars on the field tonight–four if you count Victor Martinez who won’t play due to injury. Miguel Cabrera will get the start at first base and hit clean-up for the stacked American League squad, while Max Scherzer will hope to get an inning to work and Ian Kinsler will likely be used as a reserve at some point.

Like last year, this game will have a heavy Yankee-theme to it. Future Hall-of-Fame shortstop, and Michigan-native, Derek Jeter will retire after the season. The game last year at Citi Field in New York was largely geared toward a retiring Mariano Rivera.

When We Last Met

There were six Detroit Tigers on the roster in 2013 and former Detroit manager Jim Leyland guided the American League to a 3-0 shutout victory in Queens last year. The victory earned the AL the home field, to which the Boston Red Sox (at the expense of our Tigers) won in six games over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The win snapped a modest three-year winning streak for the NL which had been utterly dominated since 1997, going 0-12-1 before winning in 2010. That incredible streak turned a series in which the National League used to rule into a very close all-time series. The NL still leads, however, 43-39-2.

Pitching Matchup 

Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

We will see several terrific pitchers in this one. Managers  John Farrell for the AL and Mike Matheny of the NL had an embarrassment of riches to choose from for their starters, but they finally settled on two great choices (though cases can easily be made for several others in each league–(cough, cough Clayton Kershaw..)

Ultimately, Matheny decided to stay with his guy, Cardinals’ ace Adam Wainwright (12-4, 1.83). While some may cry nepotism, it’s hard to argue against Wainwright’s ERA dominance and WHIP of 0.913. The righty has been dominant recently, and taking a look at his game log on Baseball-Reference will have your eyes popping from the zeros he’s put up in many games this season. The sub-2 ERA is especially remarkable when you consider he allowed four, six, and seven runs in three starts.

Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Farrell went out west to give the starting nod to Felix Hernandez (11-2, 2.12), a truly must-see when he’s on the hump. The subject of annual trading deadline rumors, Hernandez has been a large reason why the Seattle Mariners have gone from preferential laughing-stock to strong playoff contender this season. In the last 13 games started by “King Felix,” the M’s have won 11 of them, and Hernandez has lost just one game since April 26. He’s sporting a WHIP of 0.901 in just over 144 innings of work.

Starting Lineups

Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

National League

1. CF-Andrew McCutchen-Pirates
2. RF-Yasiel Puig-Dodgers
3. SS-Troy Tulowitzki-Rockies
4. 1B-Paul Goldschmidt-Diamondbacks
5. DH-Giancarlo Stanton-Marlins
6. 3B-Aramis Ramirez-Brewers
7. 2B-Chase Utley-Phillies
8. C-Jonathan Lucroy-Brewers
9. LF-Carlos Gomez-Brewers

American League

Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

1. SS-Derek Jeter-Yankees
2. LF-Mike Trout-Angels
3. 2B-Robinson Cano-Mariners
4. 1B-Miguel Cabrera-Tigers
5. RF-Jose Bautista-Blue Jays
6. DH-Nelson Cruz-Orioles
7. CF-Adam Jones-Orioles
8. 3B-Josh Donaldson-A’s
9. C-Salvador Perez-Royals

To check out all of the All-Star reserves and pitchers, click here.