New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will start for the American League in Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, and he'll oppose Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who goes for the National League. AL and Astros manager Dusty Baker and NL and Phillies manager Rob Thomson made their respective decisions on Monday.
Cole, a six-time All-Star, is starting the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career. He becomes the first Yankee pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Roger Clemens in 2001.
This season, the 32-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 2.85 ERA (148 ERA+) with a K/BB ratio of 3.62 and 123 strikeouts in 117 innings. As well, his current WAR of 3.8 leads all AL pitchers. For Cole, the honor comes after a 2022 season that was a bit of a disappointment for him, at least by his lofty standards.
Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani had been in the running to make the second mound start of his career in the All-Star Game, but recent fingernail and blister issues have confined him to the DH role.
As for Gallen, the 27-year-old right-hander will be making the start in his first ever All-Star appearance. This season, he's put up a 3.04 ERA (140 ERA+) with 125 strikeouts against 23 unintentional walks in 118 1/3 innings. He's in his fifth MLB season and is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he finished fifth in the NL Cy Young balloting. Gallen will be the first D-Back to start the All-Star Game since Curt Schilling in 2002.
The AL comes in having won nine straight All-Star Games and leading the all-time series against the NL by a count of 47-43-2. You can see the starting lineups for both teams here.
