The pitching matchup for the Midsummer Classic is set.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will take the bump for the National League in front of the hometown crowd at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Tampa Bay Rays lefty Shane McClanahan will oppose the three-time Cy Young winner for the Junior Circuit.
Despite having many career accolades, including nine All-Star appearances, this will be Kershaw's first start at the event. The 34-year-old is almost certainly earmarked for the Hall of Fame and has won the NL ERA title on five occasions. He's posting a 2.13 ERA and 2.47 FIP over 71 2/3 innings this year.
"Now that it's finally here and I get to start that game tomorrow, it means a lot," Kershaw said, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com. "My family is excited."
Kershaw will join shortstop Trea Turner and outfielder Mookie Betts as Dodgers starters in the game. Freddie Freeman, Tony Gonsolin, and Tyler Anderson are also on the NL roster.
The 25-year-old McClanahan is making his first All-Star appearance. The sophomore lefty is an early front-runner for AL Cy Young, recording an MLB-leading 1.71 ERA and 0.80 WHIP over 110 2/3 innings. McClanahan is the lone Rays delegate.
This is the first time two left-handers will start the All-Star Game since 2000, when Randy Johnson faced David Wells.
Manager Dusty Baker indicated that Shohei Ohtani, the reigning AL MVP and last year's All-Star starter, preferred not to start this time around, according to Jeff Fletcher of SoCal News Group.
The AL lineup, managed by Baker, is as follows:
PLAYER
POS.
Shohei Ohtani
DH
Aaron Judge
RF
Rafael Devers
3B
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
1B
Giancarlo Stanton
LF
Byron Buxton
CF
Tim Anderson
SS
Andres Gimenez
2B
Alejandro Kirk
C
Below is the lineup for the NL club led by Brian Snitker:
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