The Midsummer Classic comes to Target Field
The eyes of the baseball world will be fixed on Minneapolis’ Target Field tonight when the National League battles the American League in the All-Star Game. Starting for the visitors is St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (12-4, 1.83 ERA), while Seattle’s Felix Hernandez (11-2, 2.12 ERA) toes the rubber for the home team.
Hernandez said, “Just throw zeros out there and get my team to win, that’s all I got to do.”
He’s not lying. Now that the winner of the All-Star Game gets home field advantage in World Series, there’s plenty of incentive for each squad. This fact isn’t lost on the American League Manager John Farrell. He said, “I don’t think you can ever underestimate the home-field advantage in a postseason. To have that final game potentially in your home ballpark, that goes a long way to affecting the outcome.”
While there are many storylines in tonight’s game, none seems bigger than that pertaining to New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter’s last All-Star Game appearance, his 14th in his career. The shortstop, 40, will retire at the end of the year. When asked how he’ll approach tonight’s contest, Jeter said, “I don’t go into things with expectations. I’m looking forward to playing the game. I’ve pretty much stopped it right there.”
As far as oddmakers, the money line shows the National League listed at +100 while the American League is -110. However, the o/u is at 7.5. Considering Major League Baseball’s current power outage, the under could easily be in play at Target Field.
John Benson is a die-hard football and basketball fan who also dabbles in the dark art of entertainment betting. With over two decades of experience in the sports writing and betting industry, he brings a wealth of knowledge and a pint of wisdom to his diverse endeavors on SportsBettingDime.com.
