Category: Baseball

Whatever it is about the All-Star Game that puts a chokehold on the National League should be studied. Once again, the American League prevailed, shutting out the NL in Philadelphia, 4-0. If you had the NL being held to three hits on your bingo card, then congrats, you win, because the bats were borderline silent, and they never even had opportunities with runners in scoring position, leaving all five base runners stranded. The AL now has a 49-45 all-time record in the Midsummer Classic, which doesn’t sound so bad until you look at the most recent years.

Outside of the first inning, there wasn’t much offensive action from either side. The pitching, however, was extremely on point and easily highlighted why they were all named All-Stars. American League starting pitcher Dylan Cease looked as good as ever, striking out the side but losing a battle to Freddie Freeman and walking him for the lone blemish in his hitless outing. He used 24 pitches to get through the inning, mainly because the NL batters kept fouling pitches off, but Cease was able to buckle down and showcase his strikeout ability on the main stage, all while mic’d up.

The AL used 11 arms throughout the game, and the NL bats completely rode the struggle bus, only getting three hits the entire game while striking out a whopping 15 times. In fact, 10 of 11 AL pitchers recorded at least one strikeout, and Bryan Baker only tossed 1/3 of an inning in the ninth, so I think we can let him off the hook. Cease ended up with the win after his three-strikeout frame, and the next seven out of the bullpen earned a hold. On top of that, the AL defense was on point, and even though many fans were annoyed that Ernie Clement was voted in from the fans, he made the best play of the night in the field.

Juan Soto finally gave the NL its first hit in the bottom of the fourth off Joe Ryan, who struck out Freddie Freeman and CJ Abrams to end any potential threat. The bats were silent again for several more innings, until Pete Crow-Armstrong singled up the middle in the bottom of the eighth, but once again, nothing came from it.

In what was essentially garbage time in the bottom of the ninth, Baker entered to get the last out for the AL, but Otto Lopez came up to bat with two outs and ripped a base hit out to right before Baker forced a ground out to end the game. Lopez deserves a lot more recognition on the national level, however, as he’s been having a phenomenal year for the Marlins, and ranks fifth in WAR in all of baseball while holding the top batting average (.334). Think Luis Arraez, but with a bit more power while being an above-average fielder and stealing plenty of bases.

The AL All-Stars had a lot more success at the plate, though they were, too, a bit sporadic. The AL posted seven hits and went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position while leaving six on base, which is seven more opportunities than the NL had, so they’ll take what they could get tonight.

Unfortunately for hometown starter Cristopher Sánchez, he got off to a rocky start, allowing three of the four AL runs and taking the loss. Sánchez started off on a high note by striking out Mike Trout to begin the game, but things got a bit out of hand fairly quickly, and the AL nearly batted through the lineup. Yordan Alvarez flashed his dominance at the plate in his first at-bat, mashing the first hit of the game and later coming around to score. Sánchez had walked Shea Langeliers and Bobby Witt Jr. to load up the bases, but worked a ground out by Junior Caminero to get two outs.

All three runs scored with two outs, as both New York Yankees All-Stars drove back-to-back RBI singles to take a 3-0 lead. Cody Bellinger mashed a 101 mph, two-run single up the middle, and Ben Rice followed suit with an even harder ball (107 mph) hit up the middle to tack on one more. Belli’s two-run single held up throughout the game, even with the Miguel Vargas bomb, and he ended up being named the All-Star Game MVP.

The AL bats quieted down for several innings, sprinkling a few hits throughout the game, but the NL bullpen was fairly solid as well. Riley O’Brien took over in the third, and a pitch got away from him and hit Junior Caminero in the hand in his second at-bat, forcing him to leave the game with Miguel Vargas taking over for him the rest of the way. Thankfully, it sounds like X-rays were negative on Junior’s hand, and he still expects to start the next series beginning Friday.

Miguel was the first of the White Sox to enter the game, and he smoked a 104.3 mph line out to his buddy Andy Pages out in center in his first at-bat, but he still found a good pitch to hit and was seeing the ball as well as he usually does. And he displayed that in his next at-bat, absolutely demolishing a 433-foot solo shot into the second deck out in left field to add an insurance run for the AL, 4-0. Vargas’ long ball was the lone extra-base hit of the entire game, and it just happened to be off of his old Dodgers teammate Justin Wrobleski. It sure was a beauty.

Tristan Peters was the next sub for the South Siders, entering the game to play right field for Bellinger in the bottom of the sixth, and caught a fly ball from William Contreras shortly after entering the game. Munetaka Murakami also eventually came into the game in the bottom of the seventh to play first, and both he and Peters each got one at-bat, and sadly struck out. I appreciated Peters using a challenge because why not, but he didn’t win this one. Mune was dealt a rough hand in having to face Mason Miller, and he, too, struck out on a 102 mph fastball. We’ll take 1-for-4 with a bomb, though, so thank you, Miguel, for picking up your teammates. Strikeouts or not, it was awesome to see these guys on this stage and that the White Sox are relevant and playing meaningful baseball again.

PHILADELPHIA –– Earlier this season, it was Hall of Fame pitcher and current TBS broadcaster Pedro Martínez who gave Justin Wrobleski the nickname “The Shark.”

On Tuesday night, Wrobleski epitomized the moniker by doing something no one had accomplished since Martínez himself more than a quarter-century earlier.

In a two-inning relief appearance in Major League Baseball’s 96th All-Star Game, Wrobleski turned in one of the best individual showings in the National League’s eventual 4-0 loss at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

He struck out the side in the top of the seventh, punctuating a dominant 12-pitch inning by blowing a 97-mph fastball past Rays slugger Yandy Díaz.

Then, after returning to the mound in the eighth, Wrobleski bounced back from a solo home run to Miguel Vargas — his former minor league teammate in the Dodgers farm system — by registering two more punchouts to make some Midsummer Classic history.

Not since Martínez in 1999 had a pitcher struck out five batters in an All-Star Game (the all-time record is six).

Among Dodgers pitchers in the event’s history, Wrobleski tied Fernando Valenzuela (1986) and Don Drysdale (1959) for the most in franchise history.

When informed of his feat postgame, Wrobleski flashed a smile and took a second to let it register.

“Feels pretty cool,” he said.

But then, before indulging any further in his performance, he cracked a self-deprecating chuckle to point out its one flaw.

“Except for [that] I gave up a home run,” he said. “That’s what’s on my mind right now.”

Indeed, the homer was memorable, with Vargas going down to get a low slider and blasting it to the second deck in left field for an insurance-adding solo shot.

“I’m super happy for him, and he’s having an awesome year,” Wrobleski said of his former teammate. “That was cool to see. It just sucks that he hit it off of me.”

Still, Wrobleski’s outing will go down as another highlight moment in his own breakout season, as well –– coming on a night made all the more meaningful by coinciding with his 26th birthday.

“I’m super blessed and lucky to have the chance to do this,” Wrobleski said. “There’s not many guys in history that have had that chance. So pretty cool to play on my birthday. My family’s here. Got to talk to them all day. And yeah, it was super fun.”

That Wrobleski even reached this All-Star Game was an underdog story in and of itself.

This time last year, the left-hander was in the minor leagues, overhauling his pitch arsenal after a rocky start to the season. By October, he had worked his way into a roster spot in the bullpen and pitched important innings in the World Series, but still entered the winter seemingly squeezed out of the Dodgers’ 2026 rotation plans.

Since getting a shot to start early in the season, however, the former 11th-round draft pick has emerged as one of the game’s most productive pitchers, going 10-2 in the first half of the campaign with a 2.69 ERA that ranked seventh in the National League.

“For whatever reason, I’ve always believed I could do it,” said Wrobleski, who has been overcoming odds since a college career that saw him play at three different schools and undergo Tommy John surgery months before getting drafted. 

“Even when it doesn’t look like it’s been something that’s possible, or hasn’t looked like this dream is going to work out, I’ve always had the belief that God’s given me the talent, and I have the ability to be able to do all this stuff. And it’s great to –– not fulfill that –– but prove that I can be really good at the major league level.”

Ironically, the only thing Wrobleski had been missing for most of this year was the ability to put hitters away with two strikes. Over his first 86 ⅓ innings, he recorded only 53 strikeouts. His reliance on soft contact had, to some, made his success feel unsustainable.

In recent weeks, however, Wrobleski has found added life on his fastball, more bite on his secondary stuff and a renewed confidence in his ability to do more than just limit damage.

He struck out 11 batters in a June 30 start against the Athletics and nine more against the Rockies last week to help him earn a last-second All-Star selection as a replacement on the NL roster.

Then came Tuesday, when he showcased his continued development on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

“I’ve been kind of learning and continuing to grow and figure out how to strike guys out and where I can go for a miss,” said Wrobleski, who got two of Tuesday’s Ks on high heaters and the other three on sweepers both in and out of the zone.

“Obviously, in a situation like this, guys are gonna swing a little bit more. But yeah, I made some good pitches today, I got some strikeouts and hopefully can build off that in the second half.”

Wrobleski’s season has gone so well that he has even allowed himself to lean into “The Shark” nickname — something he seemed initially hesitant about after it was bestowed by Martínez in a social media post in June.

For his red carpet entrance on Tuesday, Wrobleski revealed an embroidered shark on the inside of his custom-made jacket.

“We’re trying to roll with it,” he joked. “The people seem to like it.”

After Tuesday’s historic performance, he’s continuing to validate his burgeoning reputation.

Three members of the DSL White Sox squad have been named to the 2026 DSL All-Star Game: Ronald Cardoza (C), Yordany Marte (RHP), and Sebastian Romero (OF). Cardoza is hitting .316/.426/.607 with a 1.033 OPS while Romero owns a slash line of .289/.391/.608 with a .999 OPS. Marte is 0-2 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. The three players will represent Chicago’s rookie affiliate at the game on Sunday, July 19.

ACL Angels 9, ACL White Sox 1
Not much to write home about in this one. The ACL White Sox (15-38) didn’t muster a run until the fifth, when Osniel Castillo laced a leadoff triple and rehabbing Billy Carlson followed with an RBI single to center. The Sox tacked on one more in the seventh while trailing 9-1 as Adam Fogel worked a two-out walk before Marcelo Ácala ripped an RBI double to left. Too little, too late, though. Reinder Gomez was the only hurler to hold the Halos scoreless, tossing one frame and allowing just one hit and striking out one. Giving up nine runs is rarely a winning formula, and the offense didn’t do the pitching staff any favors, going just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position while leaving 10 on base.

DSL Cubs Blue 6, DSL White Sox 4
The DSL White Sox (11-20) gift-wrapped this one with three fielding blunders and a passed ball, leading to three unearned runs. The White Sox did showcase some offense, though, as Ronald Cardozo cracked a solo shot in the fourth, and then the bats tried to rally in the seventh. Jose Suarez launched a two-run bomb, Hector Hernandez legged out a triple, and Dionys Medina dribbled an RBI grounder to plate three tallies. Unfortunately, the damage was already done — too many mistakes and just not enough late-game magic.

ACL White Sox 4, ACL Padres 3 (July 13 — 7 innings)
The ACL Sox trailed 3-1 to the Padres, then finally put up a crooked number in the fifth. Landon Hodge and Adam Fogel, patient enough to draw back-to-back walks, set the table. Jose Mendoza knocked a single to pack the sacks. The Padres’ pitcher promptly lost the plot with a wild pitch, and Hodge scored. Marcelo Ácala froze for strike three, but another wild pitch let Fogel trot home. Alejandro Cruz hit an RBI single for the go-ahead. Fidel Montero took it from there with four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk.

DSL White Sox 2, DSL Cubs 0 (July 14, suspended, bottom of the first)
The Sox took control early in the top of the second. Fernando Graterol drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly before Sebastian Romero added an RBI single. It was Romero’s 34th RBI of the season, tied for sixth-most in the DSL, and gave the Good Guys a 2-0 lead.

Box Score

The All-Star Game took place on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, but it was a one-sided affair the whole way. A three-run first inning by the AL gave them a lead that they would hold throughout the game, finishing with a 4-0 victory over the NL.

Even though the hometown ace, Cristopher Sánchez, got the start in this one, pitching at home didn’t help him at all. The AL sent eight men to the plate in the first. The big two hits were an RBI single by Cody Bellinger that scored two, and another RBI single from Ben Rice that scored the third run. Before the NL could even bat, they were down 3-0.

Once they were up to bat, the AL pitching staff nearly held them in check completely. The NL had just two baserunners — a hit and a walk — through the first six innings. They didn’t record their second hit until the eighth inning. As a whole, they struck out 15 batters while allowing just three hits and two walks.

The fourth run for the AL came in the eighth inning, when Miguel Vargas hit a solo home run off Justin Wrobleski. That accounted for the final score of the game.

William Contreras was the lone Brewer to appear in the game. He entered in the fourth inning and caught the next three innings. He got one at-bat in the game, which was a fly out in the sixth inning.

The Brewers kick off the second half of the season on Friday evening at home. They will face the Marlins, who have fought their way into the third Wild Card spot, but also entered the break on a three-game losing streak. No pitchers have been announced for that series yet. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:40 p.m.

Nothing beats summer baseball. 

MLB paid homage to the iconic fireworks scene from “The Sandlot” by recreating the masterpiece at Citizens Bank Park during the All-Star Game. 

The recreated spectacle started with the playing of Ray Charles’ famous “America the Beautiful” for the entire Philadelphia crowd before children in Phillies jerseys peeked through a gate in the fence along the right field foul line.

The kids then came inside the ballpark and waved in several others who rode bicycles onto the field while fireworks shot off in the background. 

An American flag was projected on screens throughout the stadium, and kids continued to make their way toward the middle of the infield before dropping their bikes. 

Players from both teams stood side by side near their dugouts with what appeared to be sparklers, while select players, like Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh, stood with acting fans on the field. 

Some kids exchanged baseball cards with players, and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was playing catch with a young fan.

Released in 1993, “The Sandlot” is an iconic baseball movie that features a scene where the kids play under the fireworks on the Fourth of July. 

The scene also includes Charles’ song, which echoed throughout the ballpark on Tuesday. 

Following the moment, the game resumed with the American League leading the National League 3-0. 

A pair of Yankees, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger, got the scoring started to make it 3-0 in the top of the first before Miguel Vargas extended the AL’s lead to 4-0 with a homer in the eighth inning, a score that would hold in an American League victory. 

The pageantry of the night, which included the starting lineups signing a document similar to the Declaration of Independence, was fitting for America’s 250th birthday.

The American League shutout the National League 4-0 on Tuesday in the 2026 All-Star Game. Here’s some notes I took.

Keeping Score:  I decided to watch the All-Star Game this year. Not only that, I decided to score the All-Star Game this year. I recently found my old scorebook and thought it’d be fun, since I’m here recapping this with you anyways. The first game in this scorebook is a Félix Hernández complete game from Opening Day 2011. The last is both halves of a doubleheader between Washington State University and Cal State Northridge in Pullman that I covered for the school paper in 2017. In between there’s the Mariners/Marlins game that was played in Seattle because of a U2 concert in Miami; a game from the Tokyo Dome that I woke up at 2 a.m. for, per my diligent notes; a game started by Blake Beavan that I did not proceed to score after the first inning; the Red Sox first game after the Boston Marathon bombing; a 2013 WBC game; a 2017 WBC game; and a bunch of losing Mariners baseball. I’m not quite sure what the point of scoring games is in 2026, with technology and such. But I’m adding to my corporeal collection of bizarre baseball games that I might not otherwise remember.

Star-Less: The 2026 All-Star Game was relatively starless. No Aaron Judge. No Shohei Ohtani. Yes Ernie Clement. I won’t lie and say that this adds to my interest in the All-Star Game, as I watch pretty much every year, albeit more passively. But it is cool that we’ll get to see a lot more of the B+ quality of player that I think makes the league so interesting these days. My takeaways from the starting lineups are that I think it’s cool CJ Abrams is batting fourth for the NL. What a year it’s been for him. The other takeaway is I initially wrote Freddie Freeman’s team in my book as “ATL” rather than “LAD.” I’m not sure what that means, but it’s the first mistake on what’s sure to be a rather messy scorecard.

The Pregame: I’m writing this as the lineups are being announced. Each player is entering through an MLB-branded Liberty Bell and jogging a few feet to a podium, where they’re signing what appears to be the starting lineups on a large, old-timey document using quill and ink. What I’ve gotten out of this All-Star week is that Philadelphia really wants you to know that their culture is boxing, the founding fathers, and booing other teams players. The only players who didn’t get booed on announcement were the Phillies players and the Philly-born players (like Mike Trout). After all the players were aligned on the chalk — a process that took a bit more than 30 minutes — the Mastercard Kids4Techᵀᴹ entered and shook all the players hands. 

The Post-Pregame: Play ball! Er, commercial break… Washington’s Lottery, North Idaho College, RnR RV Center, some sort of sponcon game show called Beat Shazam… and Play Ball! Er, no let’s hear from our hosts tonight, Joe Davis and John Smoltz, who I haven’t seen since the postseason. They’re interviewing Justin Verlander, and hinting at a second interview with Verlander later in the game. I’m already not loving this experience. Play ball! Er, commercial break… Claude, Mastercard, World Cup, Dodgers Yankees on Saturday, 75 Years Of Jack In The Box, North Idaho College. Play Ball! Er, Ben Stiller narrating an All-Star Game Carnival interstitial. I’m starting to think this game starts at 5:30 and not 5 like they advertised. Play ball! Er, Mike Trout is from Philadelphia let’s see what he’s got to say to Tom Verducci. Not much, apparently. Play ball! Hey, there’s Crisotopher Sanchez warming up on the mound. We’re actually about to star this thing! Er, sorry, Bryce Harper is talking to Ken Rosenthal. Play ball…

Cristopher Sánchez Has The Runs: Sánchez did not have it tonight, which was disappointing. He got Trout to strikeout leading off with a nasty changeup. Then he gave up a single, a walk, an out, a walk, a single, and a single — the game was 3-0 AL by the time Sánchez struck out Riley Greene to end it.

Dylan Cease, Mic’D Up: I don’t know why they did this, but it wound up being pretty great. FOX mic’d up both Dylan Cease and Shea Langeliers in the bottom of the first. Initially, Davis tried to ask him questions like an interview, and Cease wasn’t having it. But Davis backed off, and it turned into a nice conversation between Cease and Langeliers, calling pitches, discussing locations, mouth-over-glove type stuff. Smoltz didn’t quite catch the magic that was happening and interjected a few dumb questions. “Shea, how have your challenges been this year?” “Uh, I think they’ve been OK.” Cease was similarly unimpressed with Smoltz calling pitches for him. But Cease did ultimately strike out the side. It was a great inning, and the best of way, way too many in-game interviews that took place in this one.

Justin Verlander, Praise Be: The second inning returned with the aforementioned Verlander-themed pitchers roundtable. They had a bunch of other pitchers mic’d up in the dugout, like Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler, though none of their mics worked well enough to hear most what was said. Davis and Smoltz asked them to say very nice things about Verlander, and asked Verlander to offer some sage wisdom. It was awkward but quick as the AL went down in order in the top of the second. Unfortunately, it was too quick, as they brought it back for the bottom of the inning, which was just as awkward. They glossed over the All-Star facetime for Eduardo Rodríguez and Parker Messick, who each pitched clean innings, in favor of the conversation. Lame. The only good thing was the reminder that Verlander is about to go away.

Yee-ouch: Riley O’Brien smoked Junior Caminero in the left hand in the third inning. He seemed to be in considerable pain and laid on the ground for a while. Then he hopped up and ran right into the locker room. O’Brien looked a bit sheepish. Yikes. The broadcast later reported that Caminero’s hand was not broken.

Ray Charles, Mmmkay: I looked away for a commercial break after the fourth and looked up to some sort of interstitial with narration about baseball and nostalgia but its not actually nostalgia or something — I don’t know, I missed the point. Then we jumped back to the broadcast with the Phillies playing a recording of Ray Charles singing America The Beautiful. All of a sudden a bunch of kids on bikes started riding around the field and talking to the players. There was tons of fireworks, which created tons of smoke for the last half of the game. Was this like a halftime show? An interactive theater art piece? Who was this for? OK, back to commercial.

The Mariners Were Here: Randy Arozarena pinch hit for Riley Greene in the sixth inning and faced Raisel Iglesias with a runner on first. He quickly grounded out to shortstop. Arozarena later caught a ball in the outfield. Then he got a single off Jhoan Duran in the ninth. The Mariners were here.

Birthday Boy: Whoa what a performance from Justin Wrobleski on his 26th birthday. He got the seventh for the NL and struck out the side on 12 pitches. His velocity was way up, looking much more like the reliever version of himself from last year, and not so much like the crafty lefty starter that made him an All-Star this year. There were several great one-inning pitching performances tonight, and this was the best so far.

Hey, C’mon It was His Birthday: I wrote the above point before knowing Wrobleski would come back out for a second inning. He made his only mistake of the night by hanging a slider to Miguel Vargas, who hit a towering, 433-foot homer into the second deck in left to extend the AL’s lead to 4-0. He hit so hard that Pete Crow-Armstrong, the latest in-game interview, couldn’t help but give an “Oh god” from his place in centerfield. Wrobleski would punch out the next two batters, finishing his two innings of work with five strikeouts.

Bryan Baker, Shutout: Suddenly it was the ninth and Aroldis Chapman entered the game. He got two batters out. Then for the sake of extending things a bit longer, John Schneider brought in Bryan Baker to get the final out. After another long commercial break, Baker threw one pitch and got the final out. The AL shutout the NL, allowing just three hits with 15 strikeouts. This game was an exhibition, but it felt like a lot of baseball I’ve watched this year.

MVP: Cody Bellinger won MVP, for his two run single in the first. Cool.

Final Thoughts: This was fun. I enjoy the All-Star Game for what it is. Most of it is tedious, and my attention goes in and out, but every year there’s a thing or two that I enjoy. The Cease/Langeliers conversation was great. Wrobleski was fun to watch. There was also a fun Mason Miller vs. Munetaka Murakami at bat (Miller struck him out) that felt exceptionally All-Star-y. I feel as if I’ve done something productive.

The American League scored three first-inning runs and went on to a largely uneventful 4-0 win over the National League on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.  

The NL managed only three hits. The game featured only one extra-base hit, an eighth-inning solo home run by Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas.

Using a total of 11 pitchers, the AL racked up 15 strikeouts. They produced the first shutout in an All-Star game since 2013.  

Here are the top takeaways 

-Perhaps the No. 1 takeaway, unfortunately, was the noticeable lack of star power in the game. Some of that was due to bad luck, with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani out due to injuries, while Tarik Skubal is just back from his elbow injury.  

But some of it was an avoidable problem, with some of the game’s best pitchers out because they pitched on Sunday, the final day games are played before the All-Star break. 

-Jacob Misiorowski, the hardest-thrower in baseball, and Paul Skenes, reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, both fell into that category, as did ZackWheeler, though he originally went unselected for the team and then turned down an honorary offer to be part of the team.  

In any case, MLB could solve the problem by pushing the All-Star Game back to Wednesday, which seems reasonable since the break has been extended in recent years, as most teams don’t resume until Friday.  

As it turned out, pitching dominated anyway, as is often the case in these games, but it's the star power that fans want to see, especially in the form of power arms and high velocity.  

-Cam Schlittler fit into that category also, though he chose to sit out, citing the need to rest up for the second half of the season. Though there seemed enough uncertainty that if Blue Jays manager John Schneider had been willing to name him to start the game, Schlittler could have been convinced to pitch. 

-With so little offense in the game, the Yankees’ Cody Bellinger was named the MVP, thanks to his two-run single in the first inning that gave the AL a 2-0 lead. 

He and fellow Yankee Ben Rice had a big impact early in the game, each driving in runs off NL starter Cristopher Sanchez.  

Bellinger came up with the bases loaded and two outs, and on a 2-2 count, lined a single up the middle off a 95-mph sinker from Sanchez, driving home the first two runs of the game.  

Rice followed with a similar single up the middle on a 1-0 pitch, a 97-mph sinker that Sanchez left belt-high, to make it 3-0 for the AL.  

Both Bellinger and Rice came up with runners in scoring position again in the third. However, Bellinger flied out to Juan Soto in left and Rice struck out swinging – both against Cardinals’ right-hander Riley O’Brien.

-Soto, who was booed loudly by Phillies’ fans during introductions (along with players for the Yankees, Dodgers, and Braves), struck out in the first inning for the NL team against Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease, swinging and missing at an 0-2 fastball on the outside corner at 94 mph.  

In his second at-bat against Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, Soto hit a hard ground ball up the middle for a single. It was the NL’s only hit until Pete Crow-Armstrong singled in the eighth inning.  

-In the second inning, FOX tried what play-by-play announcer Joe Davis called a “round-table discussion” with three pitchers, Justin Verlander, Schlittler, and Misiorowski, as well as game analyst John Smoltz, and it didn’t go particularly well.  

First of all, the top of the second inning went quickly, 1-2-3, allowing for only one answer from each pitcher. Same for the bottom of the second, another 1-2-3 inning, and neither Misiorowski nor Schlittler was expansive with their answers, leaving Verlander to do most of the talking about his Hall of Fame career.  

In retrospect, it was a bad idea, trying too hard to be creative. FOX would have been better off simply interviewing Verlander, who seemed most comfortable talking from the dugout.  

-Then there was the in-game interview with Kyle Schwarber during his at-bat in the third inning. I get that FOX wants to try to spice up the telecast, but it’s rare when these interviews turn out to be worth doing.  

Schwarber seemed to be a willing participant, trying to offer his thoughts on the at-bat, but his earpiece kept falling out, and he was frantically trying to put it back in between pitches before hitting a hard ground ball to second for the final out of the inning.  

At least the interview with Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop during the same inning was going well, with Witt offering enthusiastic answers, but then Davis and Smoltz had to cut that short when Schwarber came up to hit.  

FOX tried the at-bat interview once more, with Bryce Harper in the sixth against Guardians reliever Cade Smith, and it did produce a little humor, as he challenged a called strike, the first challenge of the game. However, Harper’s heart wasn’t really in it.  

“Why not?” he joked, before admitting: “That’s a strike.” 

And sure enough, the call was confirmed and Harper went on to strike out swinging at a splitter in the dirt.

PHILADELPHIA — Willson Contreras, for better or worse, leaves all his emotions on the baseball field.

For two days at the 96th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, it made for fantastic entertainment as the passion of the Philadelphia fan was no match for the Venezuelan All-Star from the Boston Red Sox.

Heck, Contreras did not find a man on the field he could not hug during the Tuesday, July 14 game at Citizens Bank Park. He engulfed home plate umpire Alan Porter in a hug. Ran directly at San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez after a force out – and then wrapped his countryman in a warm embrace.

And, perhaps most poignantly, shared the field with brother William – yes, they hugged at home plate – for the first time in an All-Star Game.

A night earlier, Contreras successfully met the challenge of the Philly fan, advancing past the first round of the Home Run Derby while hometown favorite Bryce Harper was eliminated. Come Tuesday night’s introductions, the crowd at the Bank roared thunderous boos on Contreras, who cupped his hand to his ear.

In short: A lot.

"Man, a lot of stuff. Hanging out with the guys, a bunch of new guys we’ve played against," says Contreras. "You don’t know them as a person. You meet them here. I’m glad to get the invitation to the All-Star Game to meet new guys, new faces.

"Having my family here. Playing with my brother. The Home Run Derby – the fans booing me. There’s a lot of memories I made in two days."

Those feelings were mutual. Contreras is such a force of nature, he couldn't help but energize an AL squad that won for the 11th time in 13 All-Star Games, a 4-0 conquest over the NL. Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has known Contreras a good while - they share an agency, Octagon - and said it was eye-opening to share a dugout with the 11-year veteran for the first time.

"The way he plays the game - hard - it's a lot of fun to be on his side," says Witt. "He loves it. He loves whenever anything like that is going on, so it's special to be around."

One could say few were as deserving. See, Contreras won’t be able to play in the Red Sox’s first game of the second half, serving the final game of a suspension imposed when he had an on-field tiff with Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli, who told Contreras, "Sit down, boy!" after striking him out.

Contreras did not take kindly. And he simply could not return quietly to the dugout.

Major League Baseball’s night to celebrate its own has finally arrived. The 96th Midsummer Classic took place tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. This is the fifth time an All-Star Game has been held in Philly, but the first time at Citizens Bank Park.

The A’s were represented by two deserving All-stars, Shea Langeliers who was the American League (AL) starting catcher, batting third in the lineup and Nick Kurtz who unfortunately couldn’t play due to his thumb injury. 

The American League jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning against the Phillies hometown starter Cristopher Sánchez thanks to a Yordan Alvarez base hit, walks to our own Shea Langeliers, and Bobby Witt Jr. and then singles by the Yankees Cody Belanger and Ben Rice.

Shea led off the third inning against the Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien and singled to centerfield. He was erased on a fielder’s choice by Witt.

Through three innings, the American League hurlers have given up no hits and only one walk to protect their 3-0 lead. That streak ended when Juan Soto singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning against Joe Ryan of the Twins. He was stranded at first when the inning ended.

MLB captured the spirit of the game during the fifth inning ceremony with kids riding their bikes to the stadium and breaking through the outfield fence to join the major leaguers on the field for a fireworks display set to the classic version of America the Beautiful performed by Ray Charles.

Pitching continued to dominate for both sides. Through seven innings the National League only mustered one hit while the American League only had five hits.

The AL added to their lead with the first extra base hit of the game in the top of the eighth, a monster homer by the White Sox Miguel Vargas. Headed to the bottom of the eighth the American League led 4-0.

Aroldis Chapman, the Red Sox closer, entered the game in the bottom of the ninth to finish off the National League batters. After two outs, Chapman was replaced with Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins got the third hit of the game with two outs in the ninth. But Baker slammed the door, giving the American League their first shutout in 13 years. 

PHILADELPHIA — A 2019 NL MVP whose stock had more plunged than dropped in the years afterward, nontendered by the Dodgers and salary-dumped by the Cubs, returned to the All-Star Game for the first time in seven years transformed. No longer is he the 47-homer monster he was with the Dodgers. And no longer is he the .165-hitting shell of himself that he was in 2021. 

Cody Bellinger is a different player, which was reflected in his first-inning at-bat. 

Cody Bellinger is a different person, which was reflected by his companions to the podium after the game: Caiden and Cy, his two young daughters and a significant reason Tuesday meant so much to him. 

The reinvention of Bellinger already had been complete, but it was on display during the American League’s 4-0 victory at a sold-out, rocking, booing and Red, White and Blue’ing Citizens Bank Park, where a player who does just about everything well joined a club of Giancarlo Stanton, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter as Yankees All-Star Game MVPs. 

“Pretty special,” Bellinger said after driving in half the game’s runs with one easy swing. “My first few years in the big leagues — I was here I think two of my first three years, and I was like, ‘I’ll be here every year.’ 

“It took a long time to get back.” 

He got back, getting past nose-diving years with the Dodgers and merely solid seasons with the Cubs, by relying upon his athleticism and smarts more than his power. With the Yankees, he excels with two strikes, knows when to shorten up and knows when to unleash. 

In Tuesday’s first inning, the AL had loaded the bases with two outs against Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sánchez, against whom lefties had hit .137 with a .328 OPS this season. 

Bellinger went down, 0-2. He laid off a sinker and a changeup. And he got a sinker in the middle of the plate and shot it up the middle for a two-run single. 

“I just tried to keep it simple,” said Bellinger, who could not have known at that moment that the AL wouldn’t need another run. 

And yet they scored again one batter later, Ben Rice following it up with another left-on-left single against Sánchez. 

“Ben’s really just been doing it all year,” Bellinger said of Rice. “He’s such a good player. He’s really smart. He’s fun to talk hitting with.” 

“I was so fired up for him,” Rice said of Bellinger, who dislocated his shoulder in the 2020 World Series, statistically was one of the worst players in the league in ’21 and not offered a contract by the Dodgers after ’22. 

He landed with the Cubs and rebuilt his value but only partially, leading to the trade ahead of last season in which Chicago was on the hook for some of Bellinger’s salary. 

With the Yankees, and particularly in a Yankee Stadium that suits him, a new Bellinger has emerged. 

“It’s such a competitive league. It’s hard to be an All-Star,” Bellinger said. “The performance, it all has to come together. 

“Honestly, this one, I just really enjoyed it.” 

Two swings from Bellinger and Rice — “A couple knocks from the Yankee boys,” in the words of AL and Blue Jays manager John Schneider — represented the only scoring outside an eighth-inning homer from the White Sox’s Miguel Vargas. Eleven pitchers on the AL pitching staff combined for a three-hitter while walking two and striking out 15. 

The game will be remembered for the pitching, Bellinger and the pageantry — enough to make theater directors blush. The league went to great lengths to celebrate both baseball and the United States, including through introductions in which players entered through giant Liberty Bells, then signed their names with quills on a lineup scroll that was styled like the Declaration of Independence, and that was before the mid-game fireworks display and seventh-inning, “Happy Birthday,” America singalong. 

So it was only appropriate that the star of the All-Star Game was one of those Yankees from the north.

The American League and The National League took the field at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for the ninety-sixth All-Star Game. This is the fifth All-Star Game in history hosted in Philadelphia, and the first since 1996.

Speaking of the number five, the Atlanta Braves had five representatives on the NL All-Star roster. Drake Baldwin and Ozzie Albies were starters, while Matt Olson was a reserve. On the pitching side of things, Chris Sale and Raisel Iglesias were active for the game.

Small little side nugget, Braves legend Hank Aaron holds a tied for the record for most All-Star Games played with twenty-four. It should be noted that for part of his career they played two All-Star Games per year, but it is still a fun Braves stat.

The NL struggled mightily with their bats against the elite AL pitching. Other than the first inning the NL pitching did great as well. Let’s break down what each Braves player was able to accomplish in the game.

Ozzie Albies

Albies, who is having his best season since 2023, was elected as a starter. It is his first All-Star appearance since the aforementioned 2023 season. He hit sixth in the lineup and the first pitcher he saw was Parker Messick in the second inning. Albies swung on the second pitch he saw, which was an outside change up, and grounded out sharply to Bobby Witt Jr. at SS.

In his second at-bat he faced Nick Martinez in the fifth in to a very similar result. This time he swung on a fastball right down the middle on the third pitch from the left side of the plate and grounded out to first baseman Willson Contreras. Albies was replaced in the sixth inning, but he was able to also pick up an assist from second.

Drake Baldwin

Drake Baldwin was also a starter and hit ninth in the order. The first pitcher he faced was Michael Wacha in the third inning. Unfortunately, he struck out looking on the third pitch he saw. Because he was so late in the lineup, that was the only at-bat he got. He was replaced in the fourth inning by former Brave William Contreras.

Baldwin did have a positive outlook on his first all-star experience:

Matt Olson

Olson made his fourth career All-Star appearance and third as a Brave. He was a reserve so he did not get into the game until the replaced former Brave Freddie Freeman at first base in the top of the fifth. He had his first at-bat in the bottom of the seventh. Olson faced Drew Rasmussen. He hung in the at-bat for six pitches to include fouling off a potential third strike, but he ultimately hit a routine fly ball to Randy Arozarena.

Matt Olson was able to get a second at-bat in. This time it was in the ninth and he faced ageless wonder Aroldis Chapman. Olson decided to swing on the first pitch he saw, which was a 97 MPH sinker inside, and somehow popped it up to SS. Defensively Olson picked up four putouts.

Raisel Iglesias

Raisel Iglesias finally made his All-Star debut this season in his twelfth MLB season. It can definitely be argued that he should have way more than one selection so it was nice to finally see him out there. Iglesias came in to pitch in the sixth inning and pitched a scoreless inning. He was able to get Kevin McGonigle to ground out, followed by a deep fly out from Cody Bellinger. He did give up a single to the red hot Willson Contreras, but recovered and forced a ground ball from Randy Arozarena.

Chris Sale

Everyone boo Dave Roberts. He did not put in Chris Sale to pitch his tenth All-Star game when Sale said he was willing to pitch. He also did not put in rival Giants’ Logan Webb. Coincidence?

Overall the game was dominated by the AL pitching. The NL only had three hits the entire game. The NL pitching was not bad except for the first inning for the most part, but they could not get the bats going at all.

The Orioles only got to send one representative to the All-Star game this season, but Adley Rutschman earned the opportunity. Rutschman made his third All Star appearance after slashing .253/.327/.436 in the first half.

Rutschman’s strong start to the season represented a bounceback for the former first overall pick. The Oregon State product posted a below-average 89 OPS+ while missing time with oblique issues in 2025. Baltimore made waves by inking catcher Samuel Basallo to an eight-year extension and signing free agent Pete Alonso to a five-year deal, but it was Rutschman representing the Orioles in Philadelphia tonight.

Basallo and Alonso have played well for Baltimore. Alonso felt like a legitimate snub after slashing .252/.346/.474 with 21 homers in the first half, but Rutschman deserves credit for finding his way back into the spotlight.

That spotlight came with questions about trade rumors and potential contract extensions. Rutschman handled himself well this week without expressing anything really worthy of discussion. The backstop said he’s had a “phenomenal experience so far with Baltimore,” and reiterated that he doesn’t spend any time thinking about trade rumors or his contract. Rutschman is under team control in Baltimore through next season.

Rutschman was named an All-Star reserve behind AL starter Shea Langeliers and fellow reserve Dillon Dingler. Langeliers entered the break slashing .257/.324/.483 with 21 homers, and Dingler received the nod after slashing .262/.323/.508 with 19 long balls. Langeliers walked and scored a run in the first inning and singled in the third. Dingler struck out in his only at bat.

Rutschman entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning. The backstop fell behind Dodgers’ pitcher Justin Wrobleski 1-2 before grounding out to shortstop in his only at bat. Miguel Vargas followed Rutschman and launched an absolute no-doubt home run to provide the American League a four-run advantage.

The Yankees got the American League on the board with three RBIs in the first inning. Yordan Alvarez, Langeliers and Bobby Witt Jr. all reached to setup scoring opportunities for Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice. National League starter Cristopher Sánchez got ahead of Bellinger 0-2, but the former Dodger lined a base hit up the middle for a two-run single.

Sánchez responded by throwing identical 97 MPH sinkers to Rice. Rice watched the first pitch go by before sending the second pitch 107 MPH back the way it came. Rice’s base hit plated Witt Jr. and provided the American League a three-run advantage.

AL pitchers dominated a National League lineup that featured hometown heros Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. Starter Dylan Cease struck out three while chatting with the Fox broadcast booth in the bottom of the first. Parker Messick, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez, Cade Smith, Jacob Latz and Aroldis Chapman pitched without allowing a hit. Joe Ryan allowed a single to Juan Soto in the fourth, and Louis Varland allowed a base hit to Pete Crow-Armstrong in the eighth.

Former Oriole Bryan Baker entered with two outs in the ninth and allowed the NL’s third hit of the game before retiring Sal Stewart to end the contest. Baltimore sent Baker to Tampa last year in exchange for the 37th overall pick in the 2025 draft. The Orioles selected high school prospect Slater de Brun with the pick but eventually traded him to Tampa in the Shane Baz deal.

Rutschman also received pitches from his former college teammate Drew Rasmussen. The former Beaver and Rays starter is 7-5 with a 3.26 ERA this season.

The game featured plenty of talent but lacked a bit of juice without players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, José Ramírez, Vlad Guerrero Jr., Jacob Misiorowski, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, and Zack Wheeler. The lack of offense led to a lack of fireworks in the game, but MLB entertained fans with a massive Sandlot-inspired fireworks show after the fourth inning. The Fox booth conducted several mid-game interviews with players on the bench and actively playing on the field.

Bellinger was named the MVP after his two-run single in the first. Rays star Junior Caminero exited after taking a HBP off his hand, but Fox Sports reported that X-Rays came back negative.

Rutschman and the Orioles will look to extend their current four-game win streak when play resumes on Friday. Baltimore is currently two games back of the third and final wild card spot.

The 2026 MLB All-Star Game will not go down in history as one of the most memorable Midsummer Classics in the near-century-long history of the event. Highlights on the field were few and far between, broadcast debacles and poorly-executed ideas compromised the viewing experience, and several distracting pieces of vaguely baseball-themed pageantry bloated the presentation of a contest which would have otherwise flown by.

But for our decidedly narrower purposes here at Pinstripe Alley, the game was a splendid success. The American League defeated the National League 4-0 at Citizens Bank Park, fueled by a first-inning rally which was paid off by both Yankees representatives in John Schneider’s starting lineup. The man who drove in the first two runs, Cody Bellinger, was eventually named All-Star Game MVP, the fourth Yankee to ever win the honor. The AL pitching staff limited the NL to just three hits all night in a tidy victory for the Junior Circuit.

The game was listed as beginning at 8pm ET, but fans needn’t have worried about missing the first pitch, which came almost a full half-hour later. All the pomp and circumstance gave way to a dream start for the AL—and the little Yankee contingent nestled within their starting lineup. Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez received the opportunity to start the All-Star Game on his home mound, but he may have been a bit nervous. His command was sporadic as the AL built a rally on a Yordan Alvarez single and a pair of walks. With two outs, Cody Bellinger came up with an opportunity to stake his side to an early advantage.

There are more ideal scenarios to face Bellinger than with two runners in scoring position and a left-handed pitcher on the mound.

Sánchez actually got ahead of Cody 0-2 with a pair of sinkers, then missed low with yet another. He turned to his signature changeup but missed badly inside. Having lost some confidence on that pitch, Sánchez returned to the sinker and left it belt-high in the strike zone. Bellinger swatted it up the middle and past shortstop CJ Abrams to score a pair.

Thanks to this early knock in the low-scoring game, Bellinger was awarded the All-Star Game MVP. He joins Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013), and Giancarlo Stanton (2022) as the lone Yankees to win the honor. Congrats to Cody!

Ben Rice wasted little time coming up with a nearly-identical result two pitches later. The first-time All-Star took a first-pitch sinker from the desperate southpaw, who was fully scared off from his changeup. Another sinker came down the pipe, and Rice capitalized. He found the same hole Bellinger did, grounding it up the gap to the right of second base to bring in yet another run. Thanks to the two hard-hit singles from the Yankees, the AL led 3-0. Who needs Aaron Judge?

(That is a rhetorical question.)

The NL failed to respond in kind to Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease, who struck out three batters and walked one in a scoreless opening frame. Cease and Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers wore microphones which they could use to communicate with each other—neither seemed all that interested in providing engaging radio in the process. It’s clear FOX was trying to replicate the success of mic’ing up Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino back in 2022 without recognizing what made that pairing work—they were Yankee teammates, for starters.

The second proceeded with little incident, as Eduardo Rodríguez and Parker Messick provided scoreless innings. Things went pear-shaped in the third inning though. Cardinals breakout reliever Riley O’Brien entered for the road third, and misfired on a fastball to Junior Caminero—the pitch hit the burgeoning Rays superstar on the wrist. Caminero fell to the ground, then wasted little time racing down the dugout tunnel and out of the game. X-rays taken during the game were negative, but it was a scary moment that put a damper on the festivities.

The show had to go on, however. After a truly pointless and unsuccessful All-Star Game challenge(???), the Yankee duo got more opportunities to drive in runs with two runners aboard. They were decidedly less successful the second time: Bellinger popped out to Juan Soto—of all people—on the first pitch he saw from O’Brien. Rice struck out swinging on a nasty 1-2 changeup to retire the side. Hey, at least they came through in the first.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Ben Rice exited the game to make way for fellow AL East denizen and Home Run Derby competitor Willson Conteras. Bellinger remained in right field, but Twins righty Joe Ryan pitched a scoreless inning without a ball being hit his way.

The folks at Citizens Bank Park appeared to expend their entire pyrotechnic budget in between the fourth and fifth. On what, I’m not entirely sure. But there were a lot of fireworks. When we came back from that display, the playing field was swamped by a thick layer of smoke—just another complication in an absurd presentation put on by MLB tonight.

Interestingly, Bellinger joined Mike Trout as the only two All-Star starters to take three plate appearances tonight. Cody got his third turn at bat in the top of the sixth inning against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias, and gave the 1-0 offering a good ride to the opposite field. Corbin Carroll tracked it down in the gap, though. Iglesias worked around a two-out single from Contreras to put up yet another zero on the box score—those three Yankee ribbies continued to stand up as the only scoring entering the game’s latter third.

In the top of the seventh, breakout Dodger lefty Justin Wrobleski turned in one of the better pitching performances of the night by striking out the side. While Wrobleski and his bottom-of-the-inning counterpart, Drew Rasmussen, are deserving All-Stars, their appearances underscored another unfortunate aspect of this year’s game: a relative lack of household names taking the mound.

To wit, here are just a few starting pitchers who didn’t participate in the game tonight: Paul Skenes, Jacob Misiorowski, Chris Sale, Shohei Ohtani, and Yankees breakout star Cam Schlittler. Of course, this is an annual issue with the All-Star Game, but the timing felt particularly poor for this year’s crop of star hurlers.

We finally got another run in the top of the eighth inning courtesy of White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas. Vargas drew in for the injured Caminero in the third, and in his second at-bat, he took Wrobleski to the second deck in left field for a massive solo shot, giving the American League a good-measure insurance run.

I got one last chuckle out of this game when John Schneider pulled Aroldis Chapman from the game with two outs in the ninth to give the final out to a Ray. Bryan Baker did the honors by fielding a comebacker from Sal Stewart to record the first All-Star Game shutout since 2013. Was that fun? I’m not sure.

Enjoy the rest of the All-Star Break, everybody! The Yankees have even more reasons to enjoy it given the way Bellinger and Rice represented them tonight. Their first assignment out of the intermission will come in the Bronx on Friday, as the defending back-to-back champion Dodgers come to town. First pitch for the series opener is set for 7:05 PM, with coverage on YES.

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA — Jacob Misiorowski's second trip to the MLB All-Star Game was much different than his first.

The Milwaukee Brewers' young pitching phenom seems to be okay with that.

"Honestly, I think it was a little bit more fun in a way," Misiorowski said in a media scrum outside of the National League clubhouse in the basement of Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14. "There's no stress that comes with it. I didn't have to worry about pitching, and I could just have fun, talk to guys, really just soak it all in."

MLB All-Star Game: AL wins behind first shutout in 13 years

He said he spent his two days in Philadelphia — where he was greeted by Phillies fans with a rather Brotherly Love welcome during pregame introduction on Tuesday — spending time on the field and talking to pitchers like the Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes and the San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb.

The main reason Misiorowski's second trip to the Midsummer Classic was different than the one last year, which caused a bit of controversy as it came just five games into his big league career, was the fact that he was ineligible to pitch.

Originally scheduled to pitch the Brewers' final game of the first half against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, but the National League Central standings leaders skipped that start due to arm fatigue. Misiorowski was slated to go head-to-head against Skenes.

"A little forearm stuff," Misiorowski said on July 11 after his start was pushed back. "Nothing crazy. Just didn’t bounce back. A little quick on the days off between but nothing crazy. We also have this long break."

So how is Misiorowski feeling with a little bit more rest since his last start on July 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals, where he struck out 11 hitters over seven innings of work? For starters, it doesn't seem he is concerned about missing his next start after the All-Star break.

"We're good, yeah," said Misiorowski, who leads the majors with 167 strikeouts on the season. "Ready to go for the second half."

Jacob Misiorowski does not sound like someone concerned about missing his next turn through the rotation. pic.twitter.com/fYQadvPd1P

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) July 15, 2026

Misiorowski, who went 10-4 with a 1.62 ERA in 18 starts in the first half, will spend the rest of the All-Star break in Milwaukee and get further treatment.

"Can go back home and get some treatment from our trainers and work out, get ready for whatever game they decide I'm going to throw," Misiorowski said. "Nothing too crazy."

As for a target date for his first start of the second half, the 24-year-old, who is in contention for his first National League Cy Young Award, said there isn't one, but he'll be ready for whenever Brewers manager Pat Murphy and his staff tell him he has the ball next.

"First game, second game, third game, fourth game, fifth game, somewhere in there. I don't know," Misiorowski said with a smile.

The Brewers open the second half of the season on Friday, July 17 against the Miami Marlins at 7:40 p.m. ET at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jacob Misiorowski 'ready to go for the second half' despite arm fatigue concerns