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Tarik Skubal ignored as starting pitcher for AL All-Star Game

Tarik Skubal ignored as starting pitcher for AL All-Star Game

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Detroit Tigers left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal has proven to be a better pitcher than Corbin Burnes in the 2024 season.

The numbers don’t lie.

But Skubal, the Tigers’ ace, will not start for the American League in Tuesday’s 2024 MLB All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. AL manager Bruce Bochy selected Burnes — not Skubal — as the starting pitcher.

The Midsummer Classic begins Tuesday at 8 p.m. Skubal will pitch from the bullpen.

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Burnes, a right-handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, will take the mound against National League starter Paul Skenes, a rookie right-hander for the Pittsburgh Pirates, to open the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field.

NL manager Torey Lovullo preferred Skenes, who has a 1.90 ERA in 11 starts, over left-handed pitcher Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, who has a 2.70 ERA in 18 starts.

“Paul has everything going for him in this game,” Lovullo told reporters in Arlington on Monday. “I just wanted to make sure the world got a chance to see him.”

As far as the AL goes, Burnes — like Skenes in the NL — is one of the most popular pitchers, but Skubal deserved to be the starter based on his performance throughout the season.

Skubal, 27, has a 2.41 ERA with 21 walks and 140 strikeouts in 116 innings pitched in 19 starts in his fifth season. Burnes, 29, has a 2.43 ERA with 25 walks and 110 strikeouts in 118⅔ innings pitched in 19 starts in his seventh season.

Skubal ranks No. 1 among all qualified AL pitchers in ERA.

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Burnes, a four-time All-Star, won the 2021 NL Cy Young Award as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Skubal, a former ninth-round draft pick who is favored to win the 2024 AL Cy Young Award, is making his first All-Star appearance.

Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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