Editorials

2015 All-Star Game Preview: Greinke Starts With NL Looking To End Skid

Joe Robbins-Getty Images
Joe Robbins-Getty Images

The 86 annual MLB All-Star Game is upon us and the Los Angeles Dodgers have a handful of players who will make an appearance in the Midsummer Classic.

It begins with Zack, Greinke, now a three-time All-Star and the National League’s starting pitcher. He becomes the first Dodger pitcher to do so since Brad Penny in 2006. Greinke’s chances of earning starting job received a boost when Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer took the mound for his club’s first half finale on Sunday. That’s not to take nothing away from Greinke however, as he’s been dominant thus far and currently is in the midst of a 35.2 scoreless innings streak.

Opposing Greinke is Dallas Keuchel of the second-place Houston Astros. Keuchel is making his first All-Star Game appearance. He has an 11-4 record and 2.23 ERA, including two shutouts and three complete games.

Despite being snubbed as an All-Star pick and in the Final Vote, Clayton Kershaw makes his way to Cincinnati as a replacement for Scherzer. Kershaw has been more dominant than what his 6-6 record and 2.85 ERA suggests. He leads the MLB in SIERA (2.23), xFIP (2.07) and strikeouts (160).

Joc Pederson, who was selected as a backup, is replacing the injured Matt Holliday. Pederson starts in left field and is the first Dodgers rookie to start an All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo did so in 1995.

Yasmani Grandal and Adrian Gonzalez are the final two Dodgers on the NL All-Star roster. Grandal is appearing in the first All-Star Game of his career; he slashed .282/.401/.526 in the first half. He overcame a slow start to the season and hit .306/.442/.645 with six home runs over the last two weeks.

Gonzalez has slashed .283/.355/.520 with 18 home runs thus far. He jumped out to an early lead in voting after a monster first month of the season, but after his performance started slipping, he lost the starting spot to Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In the last five years, the NL has won three games and the AL has won two. However, the AL’s two wins have come in the last two years.

NL Lineup:

CF: Andrew McCutchen

3B: Todd Frazier

1B: Paul Goldschmidt

RF: Bryce Harper

C: Buster Posey

DH: Anthony Rizzo

SS: Joel Peralta

LF: Joc Pederson

2B: DJ LeMahieu

AL Lineup:

CF: Mike Trout

3B: Josh Donaldson

1B: Albert Pujols

DH: Nelson Cruz

RF: Lorenzo Cain

LF: James Jones

C: Salvador Perez

2B: Jose Altuve

SS: Alcides Escobar

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Zack Greinke On All-Star Game

Staff Writer

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