Welcome to Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians located in Cleveland, Ohio for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game! First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 PM, and you can catch tonight’s game through national television on FOX.
Major League Baseball’s biggest and best power-brands come together for the ‘Mid-Summer Classic’ to showcase their All-Star skills on a national scale, and doing so in a game with zero pressure at that. However, there are bragging rights at stake between peers, and the American League has had that right for six seasons in a row now. Surely, National League players, managers, and purists would love to end that streak.
According to the web-based sportsbook Bovada, the American League are currently the favorites to land the win at -115, making them victors for a seventh straight season. However, in the National League’s defense, they’re not far behind in the odds at all, placing just -10 behind the AL at -105. Starting off pitching for the American League will be Justin Verlander (Houston Texans), while Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers) will lead the way for the NL. The OVER/UNDER for total runs scored is set at 8.5.
Last season, we saw a near slug-fest that saw the American League claim their sixth victory in a row with an 8-6 win over the National League. It also happened to be the first All-Star Game since 2005 with combined double-digit runs — the AL would beat the NL in that game, 7-5.
The American League has dominated the National League over the past 31 seasons, winning 24 of the 31 All-Star Games in that stretch, this including the last six victories in a row. Needless to say, it’s been a cake-walk for the AL. In a game like this, most would think in an OVER/UNDER bet, that the OVER would be where you would lay your wager — and this is certainly true in major professional sports, especially in North America. Here’s the thing though: In eight of the last 11 games, the All-Star Game has hit the UNDER. With the pitching in this game, you may want to ride with the UNDER once again.
Let’s take a look at the past MLB All-Star Games since the 2006 season:
When you compare the two rosters, you see that the National League has far more depth than the American League does. The deeper that we get into this game, the weaker the pitching will get from the AL — that’s certainly the biggest factor to pay attention to in the All-Star Game. As a result, you’ll see the momentum creep more and more into the direction of the NL, and they should get the win in the aftermath. And not just that, but the National League has the better hitting as well. The pitching is definitely the biggest thing to pay attention to though, the NL’s bullpen should blow away the American League’s. Even though the AL has destroyed the National League in the past 31 seasons (the American League has won 24 of those games), the NL has to be the team to beat in 2019. Ride with the National League.
With Justin Verlander (American League) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (National League) being as elite as they are, I personally don’t think either league will be leading after the first, so I would pass on this bet if I were you. If you are going to make this bet though, I would certainly ride with the National League, and that’s solely based off of the fact that the NL’s power-hitting is a bit deeper than the American League’s. But think about it if you are going to place a bet: Do you really think anybody is going to hit Justin Verlander when he’s going to be giving his best in just one inning (maybe two) of an All-Star Game? I would definitely pass on this bet, there’s no value here.
No. The pitching is way too elite. Let’s go over Justin Verlander of the American League first: Here in the 2019 campaign, he’s put up a dominant 10-4 record, and it’s even better with his ERA of 2.98. He’s also broke the 150 strikeouts threshold at a whopping total of 153, and his WHIP has been impressive as well at 0.81. Nobody is hitting that in the first inning, not in an All-Star Game, no. For the National League, Hyun-Jin Ryu is even more elite, check out these beauties: 10-2, 1.73 ERA, 99 strikeouts, 0.91 WHIP. That’s all you need to do with Ryu, just read off the numbers. And with the American League having less stellar pitching than the NL, you definitely have to think that they won’t even come close to hitting Ryu. As a result, take NO in this bet. I don’t see a chance of there being a run scored in the beginning inning.
As I’ve already mentioned, the deeper we go into this game, the more the momentum should ride with the National League. They have more depth, far superior pitching, and a lot better hitting. With that being said, this is the NL’s game to lose, and I can see them carrying a lead from start to finish. With that being said, definitely place the bet with the National League. They’re just so much better this year, which is weird considering the historic domination that the American League has put on the past three decades. Regardless, take the NL.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AMERICAN LEAGUE
If I were you, I’d place your wager on the National League to cover a -2.5 SPREAD. I think the NL’s deep roster will give them a distant win, but I don’t think it will be a blowaway by any means. After all, the American League is still an All-Star Game representing an entire league. With that being said, you have to side with National League -2.5. Plus, those odds at +250 are profitable. And also consider this, when the NL does win, and it’s rare, they do win by a sizeable margin. With that being said, -2.5 makes the most sense with this bet.
With the main OVER/UNDER, the MLB All-Star Game has hit the UNDER a total of eight times in the past 11 years, so whatever bet you place in this one: Be extraordinarily careful. With the American League, I don’t see them scoring many runs at all, not with how loaded the pitching is for the National League. As far as the NL is concerned, I see them getting five, six, maybe seven runs as the game gets near the end, but it’ll take them awhile to get going — especially with Justin Verlander starting things off for the AL pitching staff. Just to be on the safe side, I’d take the 6.5 UNDER wager, especially with those profitable +195 odds. As a matter of that, they’re the most profitable. Go ahead and take that, it’s too good to pass up.
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