The 94th edition of the MLB All-Star Game takes place Tuesday night at the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Field, where the American League looks to rebound on home soil.
The pregame narrative: Last year, the National League snapped a nine-game losing streak in a 3-2 win in Seattle. For this year's Midsummer Classic, I'm anticipating another low-scoring game in which the AL gets back to its winning ways.
Check out these MLB All-Star Game best bets for the matchup on July 16.
MLB All-Star Game best bets
| Picks | Odds | Bet now ⬇️ |
| Under 7.5 runs | -120 | Add to betslip |
| American League moneyline | -120 | Add to betslip |
Go to full All-Star Game betting markets.
Best bet: Under 7.5 runs (-120)
Pitching staffs and batting orders are loaded on both sides of this game, which makes it difficult to know which strength will win out.
But recent history suggests that elite pitching has the upper hand.
Four consecutive all-star games have gone under this number, averaging 6.0 runs per matchup.
In 15 all-star games dating back to 2008, the average total has been 6.6 runs. Most of those games are irrelevant to today's players, but the trend of elite pitching finding success over elite hitting is important to note.
And it makes sense, given how many top-of-the-line pitchers appear in all-star games. In the regular season, some teams use openers to gain a matchup advantage or to allow their pitchers to throw closer to max effort.
The MLB All-Star Game, meanwhile, is essentially a procession of one opener after another. Pitchers can empty the tank because they don't have to stick around for long.
Key stat: Six of the past seven all-star games have gone under 7.5 runs.
Quick pick
AL moneyline (-120): This is another pick that leans somewhat on recent history.
Last year, the American League held a one-run lead entering the eighth inning before an unlikely antihero (Elias Diaz) hit a two-run homer off Felix Bautista to flip the script.
If not for a blown save from one of last year's very best closers, the AL would be riding a 10-game win streak.
Tonight, NL starter and rookie standout Paul Skenes (6-0, 1.90 ERA) figures to give his side an edge out of the game against AL starter Corbin Burnes (9-4, 2.43 ERA). But only one pitcher has exceeded a one-inning workload in the past four all-star games, so any individual's contributions are likely to be minimal.
Even with notable absences on the AL side in Carlos Correa and Rafael Devers, I still think their lineup is more thoroughly fearsome. A likely trio of Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge to lead things off could help the AL set the tone.
Picks made at 10:05 a.m. on 07/16/24.
