Los Angeles Dodgers vs Colorado Rockies

By Jon Weisman

Thanks to the best first-half ERA by a starting pitcher in decades, Zack Greinke will be the Dodgers’ first All-Star Game starting pitcher since Brad Penny in 2006, MLB announced today.

Greinke has two previous innings of All-Star experience, both perfect. In 2009, representing Kansas City, he got Raul Ibanez to pop out, then struck out David Wright and Shane Victorino, using a total of 10 pitches in the inning. Last year, it was a virtual repeat on 12 pitches: a Jose Bautista groundout, followed by Nelson Cruz and Adam Jones strikeouts.

To sum up, that’s six All-Stars faced and six All-Stars retired on 22 pitches, 17 for strikes.

Greinke, whose 1.39 ERA before the All-Star Break is the lowest for a pitcher with at least 100 innings since 1968, will combine with Joc Pederson to give the Dodgers two All-Star starters for the first time since Hideo Nomo and Mike Piazza in 1995 — also the most recent year the Dodgers had five players on the roster.

Pederson is playing left field and batting eighth, manager Bruce Bochy announced today.

Pederson’s All-Star week is scheduled to begin with tonight’s Home Run Derby at 5 p.m. Pacific. However, as of this writing, there is a thunderstorm watch for this evening in Cincinnati.

Greinke will face Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson and Albert Pujols in the first inning Tuesday. Here are those batters histories with Greinke:

  • Trout: 3 for 7 (double, triple), one strikeout, 1.286 OPS
  • Donaldson: 1 for 3, .667 OPS
  • Pujols: 10 for 29 (five doubles, four walks), three strikeouts, .929 OPS