MLB All-Star Game live blog: Play-by-play, commentary and analysis
The 2014 MLB All-Star Game takes place tonight at Target Field in Minneapolis, and most, if not all, the focus will be on one man: Derek Jeter. The longtime Yankees shortstop and captain will be making his 14th and final appearance at a Midsummer Classic before his retirement at season's end, and in his ninth career All-Star start, Jeter will bat leadoff and play shortstop for the American League.
This year's game is about more than just the departure of a legend, however. Also on hand will be the best player in the game in Mike Trout; some of the league's best sluggers in Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Cabrera and Troy Tulowitzki; a bevy of exciting Cuban talent in Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Abreu and Aroldis Chapman; and some of the best arms in the game, including the night's starters, Adam Wainwright and Felix Hernandez, along with defending Cy Young winners Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, as well as Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel and Yu Darvish.
And on the line in Tuesday night's game: Home-field advantage in the World Series. Last year, the AL squad, featuring the last All-Star appearance of Mariano Rivera's career, shut out the NL, 3-0, earning the Junior Circuit last licks in the Fall Classic. The eventual World Champion Boston Red Sox took advantage of that honor, clinching a World Series in the friendly confines of Fenway Park for the first time since 1918. Will the AL once again down its Senior Circuit counterpart, or can the NL grab a win in AL territory? Tune in tonight, starting at 7:30 PM on FOX, and join us here to chat throughout the game. SI's Jay Jaffe, Cliff Corcoran and Jon Tayler will provide play-by-play, analysis and commentary throughout the game.
