The All-Star Game is meaningless to begin with. This is good. Let us see the great, big baseball men—the greatest and the biggest—hurl and smack balls hither and thither, and let it not matter one iota. The American League won Major League Baseball’s 89th All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., defeating the National League for the sixth straight time with a score of 8-6. In the absence of real stakes—to the victor go no spoils, not even home-field advantage in the World Series—let’s consider the night’s other winners and losers. Loser: Orioles Fans It has been days or weeks or months or maybe long, orange years since my phone went more than an hour without buzzing with some fresh report about the future of Orioles shortstop Manny Machado. He was going to spend the second half of 2018 in Philadelphia. Or in Milwaukee. Or Los Angeles. Or Arizona! He would stay in Baltimore a little longer or else he would not stay even a day more; the team was circling in on a frontrunner or the competition was only growing. His phone was ringing every day. On Tuesday, the most credible rumor yet surfaced: The Dodgers were on the verge of inking a deal with the O’s that would send Machado to Los Angeles for the remainder of the season, reported Fancred’s Jon Heyman. Further details followed. In return, L.A. would reportedly send outfield prospect Yusniel Diaz. Machado was making his way through medicals. Bonus pool money could be made to disappear. By the afternoon, the result seemed clear: A trade to Los Angeles was imminent. Meaning that for Manny—and for the many, many Orioles fans in attendance wearing his no. 13—the All-Star Game had the sudden potential of being the last time he would ever wear an O’s uniform. It had already had this potential in theory, but now, as Machado snapped a selfie with Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, it suddenly seemed real; when he was introduced in the pregame ceremony as “the shortstop from the Baltimore Orioles,” a crowd made at least partly of defiant O’s fans cheered heartily. But by the seventh inning, Fox’s Ken Rosenthal was reporting that the trade was on. In an in-game interview, Machado slipped into describing his time in Baltimore in past tense. For Orioles fans, what was meant to be a celebration—Machado’s fourth All-Star appearance and his first at shortstop—turned distinctly funereal. As an O's fan, this whole Manny Machado thing feels like breaking up with your significant other in a really public place while everyone watches and laughs. — Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) July 18, 2018 Even the Orioles seemed resigned to this being Manny’s last night in an O’s uniform. Take it away, Mal: Never, ever love anything https://t.co/BHkv5YPWlk — Mallory Rubin (@MalloryRubin) July 18, 2018 Loser: Some Hopefully Inanimate Object in the National League Dugout Max Scherzer gave up a solo home run to very large baseball boy Aaron Judge in the second inning. But as the National League’s starting pitcher, Scherzer was dealing nonetheless, exhibiting a full range of human emoti—[touches earpiece]—sorry, of rage; a full range of human rage, in just two innings on the mound. Pray for whomever first made eye contact with him as he exited the field: lol Scherzer stalking straight to the dugout pic.twitter.com/xLImFEizlq — Jomboy (@Jomboy_) July 18, 2018 Winner: Players Using Phones in the Dugout My First all star video and your first HR @TheJudge44 pic.twitter.com/9HvWkoKdq9 — Gleyber Torres (@TorresGleyber) July 18, 2018 Aaron Judge homered; teammate Gleyber Torres documented, in precisely the same way that your Aunt Sue would. Loser: Gravity Tuesday saw 10 home runs, the most ever in an All-Star Game. D.C. humidity is great! Just kidding. It’s very bad. Winner: The Eagles Or is it Loser: the Sport of Baseball? Last year, Bryce Harper used his mic’d-in-the-outfield time to gush about the Dallas Cowboys. This time, it was noted Eagles fan Mike Trout who got the chance to talk football, lighting up and throwing in a “go Eagles” for good measure. Loser: Bryce Harper I mean. You get to be tired the night after hitting 45 home runs. But still: On a night of many dingers, the Nats’ franchise star—for now, anyway—went 0-for-2. Winner: The Easter Bunny The Nationals’ de facto mascots are the Racing Presidents, who do pretty much that. Young Teddy Roosevelt, who has a history of finding inventive ways to lose, has long-standing beef with, like much of the earth’s large-scale fauna, none other than the Easter Bunny. Previously in Washington: For those who don't remember @chelsea_janes's "fondest" Nationals memory. Here ya go. pic.twitter.com/p8ZpbdCzTv — Post Sports (@PostSports) July 18, 2018 On Tuesday, the dreaded rabbit leapt once again at Teddy from the stands, handing the victory to George (as in Washington) in the process. Easter Bunny 2, Teddy 0 pic.twitter.com/x6rPuUVpBG — Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 18, 2018 Winner: Alex Bregman Bregman was responsible for homer no. 8 of 10 on the night. Was it the night’s most dramatic home run? No. Was it the one that meant the MVP voters could go home after a nearly four-hour-long game? I mean.<doc-sep>WASHINGTON -- After a dramatic two-run shot from Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett sent the game to extra innings, the American League answered with authority in the MLB All-Star Game. It led to an 8-6 American League victory. First up, Alex Bregman and then George Springer. The Springer Dinger was the ninth homer of the game (Joey Votto would hit one in the bottom of the 10th to make it 10 and, yes, that's a record). Interestingly, the Astros duo homered off Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling, which, of course, brought out the memories of last October. As we know in these parts, the Astros won the World Series over the Dodgers in seven games, thanks in part to 15 home runs. Not surprisingly, the Giants social media people couldn't help but do some good ol' trolling: Bregman was 1 for 3 in the game, but that one shot was pretty important, so he ended up winning the All-Star Game MVP award. Interestingly, the Astros had only previous had two home runs in the All-Star Game in franchise history (Cesar Cedeno and Craig Biggio). Also, one might wonder if teammates had ever gone back-to-back before in the Midsummer Classic and they have, but only once. That's pretty cool. Also cool, Bregman got a free car for winning the MVP and he chose a Chevy Camaro to give to his mother. Finally, Bregman taking MVP honors with the Astros being the ones to swing this game after the World Series title and being one of the juggernauts of baseball this season seemed like a fitting way to close down this All-Star break.<doc-sep>Adam Glanzman/Getty Images The Major League Baseball regular season will take a pause after Sunday's games to make way for the 2018 All-Star break. It's been an interesting season symbolized by a litany of home runs, strikeouts, shift debates and a wild, top-heavy American League race. But it will come to a halt as Washington, D.C., plays host to this year's Midsummer Classic. Here's a look at the All-Star Game television schedule, the rosters and a couple storylines to follow. All schedule and roster information is via mlb.com. TV Schedule The MLB All-Star Game will take place Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Fox will televise the contest, and fans can live-stream the action via Fox Sports Go. Pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on Fox. American League Roster Starters Video Play Button Videos you might like Tampa Bay Rays C Wilson Ramos Chicago White Sox 1B Jose Abreu Houston Astros 2B Jose Altuve Cleveland Indians 3B Jose Ramirez Baltimore Orioles SS Manny Machado Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge Boston Red Sox OF Mookie Betts Boston Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez Reserves Kansas City Royals C Salvador Perez Boston Red Sox 1B Mitch Moreland Oakland Athletics 2B Jed Lowrie New York Yankees 2B Gleyber Torres Houston Astros 3B Alex Bregman Cleveland Indians SS Francisco Lindor Seattle Mariners SS Jean Segura Cleveland Indians OF Michael Brantley Texas Rangers OF Shin-Soo Choo Seattle Mariners OF Mitch Haniger Houston Astros OF George Springer Seattle Mariners DH Nelson Cruz Pitchers Cleveland Indians SP Trevor Bauer Minnesota Twins SP Jose Berrios New York Yankees SP Aroldis Chapman Houston Astros SP Gerrit Cole Seattle Mariners RP Edwin Diaz Toronto Raptors SP J.A. Happ Detroit Tigers RP Joe Jimenez Boston Red Sox RP Craig Kimbrel Cleveland Indians SP Corey Kluber Boston Red Sox SP Chris Sale New York Yankees SP Luis Severino Oakland Athletics RP Blake Treinen Houston Astros SP Justin Verlander National League Starters Chicago Cubs C Willson Contreras Atlanta Braves 1B Freddie Freeman Chicago Cubs 2B Javier Baez Colorado Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado San Francisco Giants SS Brandon Crawford Atlanta Braves OF Nick Markakis Los Angeles Dodgers OF Matt Kemp Washington Nationals OF Bryce Harper Reserves St. Louis Cardinals C Yadier Molina San Francisco Giants C Buster Posey Miami Marlins C J.T. Realmuto Milwaukee Brewers 1B Jesus Aguilar Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt Cincinnati Reds 1B Joey Votto Atlanta Braves 2B Ozzie Albies Cincinnati Reds 2B Scooter Gennett Cincinnati Reds 3B Eugenio Suarez Colorado Rockies SS Trevor Story Colorado Rockies OF Charlie Blackmon Milwaukee Brewers OF Lorenzo Cain Milwaukee Brewers OF Christian Yelich Pitchers Arizona Diamondbacks SP Patrick Corbin New York Mets SP Jacob deGrom Washington Nationals RP Sean Doolittle Atlanta Braves Mike Foltynewicz Arizona Diamondbacks SP Zack Greinke Milwaukee Brewers RP Josh Hader San Diego Padres RP Brad Hand Los Angeles Dodgers RP Kenley Jansen Milwaukee Brewers RP Jeremy Jeffress Chicago Cubs SP Jon Lester St. Louis Cardinals SP Miles Mikolas Philadelphia Phillies SP Aaron Nola Washington Nationals SP Max Scherzer Los Angeles Dodgers SP Ross Stripling Pittsburgh Pirates RP Felipe Vazquez Players in italics will not be participating in the All-Star Game. Top Storylines Who Will Be the Starting Pitchers? The starting pitchers for each side have not been announced yet, but it's abundantly clear who it should be in the American League. Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale has been phenomenal this year: Per Fangraphs, the former Chicago White Sox star has an almost incomprehensible 37.2 percent strikeout rate alongside a 2.42 xFIP. He is also inducing soft contact at a 28.5 percent rate. Per Baseball Reference, Sale has struck out 78 batters in 48 innings over his last seven starts, and he's posted a 0.94 ERA during that span. The other candidate may be the New York Yankees' Luis Severino, who is 14-2 with a 2.31 ERA and the anchor of a starting rotation that has been up and down this year. However, Sale has been so dominant this season (and especially of late) that it seems like he'd be the best choice. The National League starter is a bit trickier and likely a duel between Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer and the New York Mets' Jacob deGrom. The guess here is that Scherzer is the pick given that he'll be pitching in front of his hometown crowd, but deGrom can make a great case to lead things off. For the season, deGrom has made 19 starts and managed a 1.68 ERA. He only has five wins this year because of the lack of run support, but deGrom keeps the Mets in every game. He's only allowed more than three earned runs once, and that outing wasn't terrible: six innings, four earned runs and six strikeouts against the Miami Marlins. However, Scherzer has been sensational this year, as he's struck out more than one-third of batters faced (34.5 percent to be exact, per Fangraphs). He limits his hard contact (31.3 percent), and he has a gaudy swinging strike rate of 16.6 percent. Scherzer hasn't been as sharp of late (10 earned runs in his last three outings), but he still sports an excellent 2.41 ERA. American League Murderer's Row Through games played on Saturday, July 14, six of the American League starters are tied for seventh place or better on MLB's 2018 home run list. Boston Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez and Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez lead the way with 29, while Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Mike Trout, Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge each have 25 homers. Baltimore Orioles shortshop Manny Machado and Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts round the group out with 23 apiece. Per Baseball Reference, five of those players lead the league in WAR, with Trout pacing the MLB at 6.9. Trout and Betts are one-two in on-base percentage, and Betts, Martinez and Ramirez are top three in slugging percentage. And Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, who was last year's AL MVP, is hitting .335 this year. The stats can go on and on, but the point is clear by now: Whoever has to pitch against this group has a tall task ahead of them, even if it's a dominant ace like Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom. Furthermore, that starting lineup will probably get at least two plate appearances: Getting through the order unscathed once is tough enough, but doing so twice seems like a near-impossible task. When those players take seats, however, the tough bats don't let up. Of note, Seattle Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz has smacked 22 home runs in 80 games, and Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman has 20 homers and a .926 OPS. Ultimately, the AL looks dominant on paper and should have the edge going into this matchup.<doc-sep>
The National League lost the MLB All-Star Game for a sixth straight year, falling 8-6 in 10 innings to the American League on Tuesday. It was like a flashback to last October when the 10th inning began with Ross Stripling on the mound to face a pair of Astros. It went poorly for Stripling and the NL. Alex Bregman and George Springer hit back-to-back homers on consecutive pitches to give the AL a quick lead. Jean Segura and Mitch Moreland followed with singles and Segura would eventually come home on a sacrifice fly. It was almost an exciting finish for the NL when they tied it in the ninth after being down 5-3 with one out. Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett smashed a line drive that ended up in the NL bullpen for a two-run homer. Joey Votto did his best to bring the NL back in the bottom of the 10th, hitting a solo shot of his own. Dodgers Results The night didn’t go as planned for Stripling, taking the loss after giving up four hits and three runs in 1 2⁄ 3 innings. The right-hander entered with one out in the ninth and retired the two batters he faced in that frame. Coming back for the 10th turned out to be a disaster. Stripling made a total of 39 pitches. Matt Kemp got the start in left field for the National League, hitting fifth in the lineup for manager Dave Roberts. The 33-year-old was 1-for-2 with a double and a strikeout, playing five innings in the field. After he doubled in the second, Kemp got a visit from future teammate (?) Manny Machado for a selfie (pictured above). Dodger closer Kenley Jansen did not pitch in the game, but he had this view of Kemp’s double that he shared with the world. Pregame and Fun