The Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium got a distinctly hometown touch Monday when Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw was named starting pitcher for the National League.
Kershaw is a nine-time All-Star but will be making his first All-Star start when the NL faces the American League on Tuesday night. He will be opposed by left-hander Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Because we are here in Los Angeles, home of the Dodgers, you toss this around, and Clayton’s name kept coming to the forefront to start this game,” Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker, who will lead the NL squad, said, according to MLB.com
“His reputation and what he’s meant to the game of baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers, I think it’s just perfect that he start this game for us.”
Kershaw takes a 7-2 record with a 2.13 ERA into the game.
In his last outing, Kershaw took a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Angels in Anaheim before settling for a one-hitter over eight innings in a 9-1 Dodgers victory.
Kershaw will become just the 13th pitcher in All-Star history to start in front of his home crowd. The last one was Max Scherzer, then of the Washington Nationals, in 2018.