On the mound
AL’s Sale, NL’s Scherzer to start All-Star Game
In a year when it seems just about everyone is a power hitter, Chris Sale and Max Scherzer know what awaits in tonight’s All-Star Game.
The American League’s starting batting order has combined for 181 home runs, led by New York Yankees rookie sensation Aaron Judge with 30. The National League’s lineup has 158, topped by 26 from hometown star Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins.
That’s a whole lot of long balls. “I’m gonna grip and rip as usual,” Sale said Monday when AL manager Brad Mills announced the Boston ace will become the first pitcher to make consecutive All-Star starts representing different teams.
“I give up my fair share of homers. You can check the book. It happens,” Sale said. “If you let that creep in your mind, it’s going to be a long night.”
Sale has given up 11 homers after allowing a career-high 27 last year. Washington’s Max Scherzer, who opens for the National League, tied for the NL high by giving up 31 homers last season and has allowed 13 this year.
There have been 3,343 home runs in 1,327 games this season, a rate that would leave this season’s total at 6,122 - on track to break the record of 5,693 hit in 2000 during the height of the Steroids Era.
“I’ve given up a lot of homers over the past year-and-a-half. That’s really been something that’s been a thorn in my side,” Scherzer said. “I’ve had to become a better pitcher, locate better. Because of the home-run spike, I’ve dialed it in even more to try to make my location better to try to prevent them.”
Then with the Chicago White Sox, Sale pitched the first inning of last year’s game at San Diego and allowed a two-out home run to Kris Bryant. Sale was traded in December for top prospects.
Sale will be the 16th pitcher to make consecutive All-Star starts, the first since Arizona’s Randy Johnson in 2000-01 and the first in the AL since Toronto’s Dave Stieb in 1983-84. Born in Lakeland, about 240 miles northwest of Miami, the 28-year-old left-hander is 11-4 with a 2.75 ERA and a major league-leading 178 strikeouts in 127 2/3 innings.
“All my family lives here. Brothers, sisters, in-laws, parents, even my aunts and uncles and cousins,” Sale said. “So to be able to be here not too far from where I live now is nice. I can have my family, extended family come down and experience this with me.”
“At the end of the day this is something I’ll never forget,” he said. “This is something I’ll be hopefully sitting in a rocking chair when I’m 80 years old telling my grandkids and greatgrandkids and things like that.”
Scherzer, a 32-year-old righthander, also will be making his second All-Star start. Then with Detroit, he pitched a perfect inning at New York’s Citi Field in 2013, when Sale followed with a pair of 1-2-3 innings and got the win. Scherzer will be the fifth pitcher to start All-Star Games for both leagues, following Vida Blue, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay and Johnson. Scherzer is 10-5 with a 2.10 ERA and 173 strikeouts.
Sale and Scherzer took turns complimenting each other at Monday’s announcement of the All-Star lineups.