MLB All-Star starting lineups: Zack Greinke and Dallas Keuchel named starting pitchers
CINCINNATI — Right-hander Zack Greinke is an established star in Major League Baseball with one Cy Young, three All-Star appearances and a spot on the high-profile Los Angeles Dodgers to his name.
Left-hander Dallas Keuchel, meanwhile, is still busy introducing himself to the baseball world in the middle of his breakout season with the surprising Houston Astros.
Despite those differences, both pitchers will get a chance to lead their respective leagues into Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Great American Ballpark. Both men were announced as the starting pitchers by All-Star managers Ned Yost and Bruce Bochy at a Monday press conference.
The two managers also announced their starting lineups for Tuesday’s game:
American League
CF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
3B Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
1B Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
DH Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners
RF Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals
LF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
C Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
SS Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals
P Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros
National League
CF Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
3B Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds
RF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
1B Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
C Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
DH Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
SS Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals
LF Joc Pederson, Los Angeles Dodgers
2B DJ LeMahieu, Colorado Rockies
P Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers
Greinke was a natural choice to start for the National League, especially after Washington’s Max Scherzer was taken off the roster after pitching on Sunday. Greinke has an 8-2 record with a league-low 1.39 ERA and a league-high ERA-plus of 265 (an average pitcher rates at 100 ERA-plus).
Keuchel’s bid, however, wasn’t as clear cut. Many believed Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale would get the nod with an 8-4 record, 2.72 ERA and 157 strikeouts over 119 1/3 innings. His manager Robin Ventura, however, said he hoped Sale would not pitch after throwing 115 pitches in a Saturday win over the Chicago Cubs.
Yost said on ESPN Radio Monday morning that he had reached an agreement with Ventura to only have Sale pitch one inning. But the starting nod did not go to Sale, a four-time All-Star, and instead went to the 27-year-old Keuchel, who is 11-4 with a 2.23 ERA for the first-place Astros.
Yost said he was particularly swayed by a start that Keuchel made against the Royals on June 30, throwing eight scoreless innings and striking out seven Kansas City batters.
“It was a tough decision. I kind of looked at numbers and studied numbers. I looked at players’ votes and I settled on Dallas Keuchel,” said Yost. “What a phenomenal year he’s having.”
Oakland Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray might have also been a good choice to start for the American League, but a Sunday start led to him being replaced on the AL roster by Hector Santiago.
“I never expected this,” Keuchel said. “Just to be on the same team with the best players is truly an honor.”
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Kevin Kaduk is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KevinKaduk
