Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
Seven years ago, the American League had a losing record versus the National League in the All-Star Game at 43-38-2. But six consecutive wins in the contest have vaulted the AL ahead of the NL, 44-43-2. Now, the AL is opening as a slight -112 favorite (wager $112 to win $100) on the 2019 MLB All-Star Game odds before shifting to -115 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com to make it seven in a row Tuesday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
The NL opened as a -108 underdog and then moved to -105 on those MLB odds to end its six-game skid, with the total for the game sitting at 8.5 runs.
Of the past six wins for the AL in the MLB All-Star Game, five have been decided by two runs or more, including last year’s 8-6 victory in 10 innings that saw a record 10 home runs hit by both teams combined.
This year’s All-Star pitchers will try to keep the ball inside the park, although that could definitely be a challenge considering how many home runs have been hit by All-Stars in the first half of the season. However, the past two All-Star Games saw a combined nine runs scored between them.
Starting for the AL will be Justin Verlander (10-4, 2.98 ERA) of the Houston Astros, and he has been critical of MLB in saying Monday that he believes the balls have been juiced this year to produce more offense. The 36-year-old eight-time All-Star has surrendered 26 home runs already in 2019 after serving up 28 total in 2018 and 27 in 2017.
Meanwhile, Hyun-Jin Ryu (10-2, 1.73 ERA) of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets the nod for the NL, and he has allowed only 10 home runs through his first 17 starts for the team with the best record in baseball. The Dodgers are 60-32 and will have four other All-Stars joining Ryu, including outfielder Cody Bellinger (.336, 30 HR), first baseman Max Muncy (.266, 22 HR) and fellow pitchers Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 3.09 ERA) and Walker Buehler (8-1, 3.46 ERA).
It is worth noting that this will be the first MLB All-Star Game to be played in an AL park since 2014 when the Minnesota Twins hosted the event at Target Field. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels was the MVP that year and also won it the following year.
Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for analysis on this week’s top games. As well, the OddsShark Computer serves up daily MLB picks for bettors.
