We have now reached that point in the Major League Baseball season when the All-Star Game is on the mind. The teams have been announced, the final ballots are in place, and this is the last week of action before the break. Love it or hate it, the All-Star Game does mean something and it also showcases the game’s biggest stars. Before we get there, though, there are still seven more days of action, and there is plenty that will happen throughout this week.
All-Star Final Ballot – Now that the All-Star rosters have been filled, the one matter left to resolve is who wins the final roster spot in each league via fan voting. In the American League, five relievers are up for the spot, while in the National League, it will go to an offensive player. The A.L. ballot consists of Joaquin Benoit, Steve Delabar, David Robertson, Tanner Scheppers, and Koji Uehara. In the N.L., it’s Ian Desmond, Freddie Freeman, Adrian Gonzalez, Hunter Pence, and Yasiel Puig. Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that Puig will win the vote based on the excitement he’s brought fans since arriving in L.A. But, MLB.com reports it is actually Freeman who owns a slim lead as of Monday afternoon. In the A.L., Delabar has jumped out front early. Voting closes on Thursday at 4:00 p.m ET and the winners will be announced soon thereafter.
No-Hitter Follow-Up – The spotlights shine brightly on pitchers making their next start immediately following their no-hitter. Everyone wants to see another no-no, but that hasn’t happened since the Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer held the Boston Bees and Brooklyn Dodgers hitless in back-to-back starts in 1938. On Monday, another Red will have the chance to join him as the only players to ever accomplish the feat when Homer Bailey takes the mound in Milwaukee. This isn’t uncharted territory for Bailey, who threw his first career no-hitter last September. He then made his next start on the final game of the season and promptly gave up a leadoff single on his third pitch of the game. Chances are he won’t do any worse tonight. We’ll have to see just how long he can last before giving up his next hit.
Dodger Debut – The first big trade piece to fall this season was Ricky Nolasco, who was dealt from Miami to Los Angeles last week. Nolasco was putting together a solid year for the Marlins. His record was just 5-8, but that’s not too bad considering he pitched for one of the worst teams in baseball. His ERA was 3.85, which would be the second-best in his career, and his 7.2 K/9 rate is his best in three seasons. With L.A. having been dealing with injury problems among its starters, adding Nolasco should help stabilize its starting staff. He is set to take Chris Capuano’s place in the rotation and will make his first start in Dodger Blue on Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.
Bad Blood Renewed – Tuesday night’s game won’t be notable for just Nolasco’s debut. Arizona’s starter that night will be Ian Kennedy, who caused a bench-clearing brawl the last time the two teams met on June 11. Kennedy hit Yasiel Puig and Zack Greinke with pitches, triggering the fight. He was then suspended for 10 games because of it. This three-game set between L.A. and Arizona marks the first series between the two since that incident. The Diamondbacks maintain their lead in the N.L. West, but it is the Dodgers who have clawed their way into second place and are just 4.5 games back. With the implications on the standings and the recent history between the two teams, this should be one intense series.
Matchups of the Week – Among the other series to watch this week are Athletics-Pirates, Rangers-Orioles, Nationals-Phillies, Blue Jays-Indians, Rockies-Padres, Blue Jays-Orioles, Rangers-Tigers, Reds-Braves, Red Sox-Athletics, Rockies-Dodgers, and Giants-Padres. The Tigers and Indians also finish up a four-game, weekend wraparound series tonight, and Max Scherzer tries to remain unbeaten while picking up his 14th win. Some intriguing pitching matchups worth watching are Bartolo Colon–Jeff Locke and Jon Lester–Felix Hernandez on Monday, James Shields–C.C. Sabathia on Tuesday, and Chris Sale–Anibal Sanchez on Thursday.
