ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers are hosting the MLB All-Star Game and manager Bruce Bochy is running the American League team. But Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes has stolen the show.
In the pregame press conference at Globe Life Field, Bochy got to reveal his starting lineup, followed by his NL counterpart, Torey Lovullo. Then, the questions started and they were all for the Pirates phenom, who will start for the Senior Circuit on Tuesday night.
Bochy listened intently but didn’t have much to do for about 15 minutes. Once he finally did get a question, he talked about what it was like to manage a game like this, as it is his fifth time leading the All-Star team. He led the National League four times, three of which were with the San Francisco Giants.
He said it’s “fun,” but you do have to manage the game a bit differently.
“You’re trying to get everyone involved,” Bochy said. “You want them to get some time. At the same time you want to try and win the game. It’s not egos for the players. They’ll do whatever you want for the most part. … I’ve never had a player tell me they only want to do this. It’s always, ‘What do you need?’”
Bochy slotted his only Rangers starter, second baseman Marcus Semien, in the No. 9 position. He normally bats leadoff, but this was a hard lineup to put together, he said, especially figuring out how to slot the last three hitters.
Cleveland outfielder Steven Kwan will leadoff and play left field, followed by Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson in the No. 2 spot. The two New York Yankees outfielders will be third and fourth, with Juan Soto in right field and Aaron Judge in center field.
After that, Houston’s Yordan Alvarez will bat fifth and be the designated hitter, followed by Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero will take the No. 7 spot while Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman will bat in front of Semien.
Baltimore right-hander Corbin Burnes will start on the mound.
The National League will have Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte leading off. After that, Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Shohei Ohtani will bat second and Philadelphia shortstop Trea Turner will bat third. His teammate, first baseman Bryce Harper, will bat clean-up.
Milwaukee catcher William Contreras will bat fifth, followed by his teammate, center fielder Christian Yelich. Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm will bat seventh, followed by Dodgers center fielder Teoscar Hernandez and San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar, who at one time was the Rangers’ No. 1 prospect.
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Source link : https://www.si.com/mlb/rangers/news/all-star-game-lineup-reveled-by-texas-rangers-manager-bruce-bochy
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Publish date : 2024-07-15 14:32:24
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