MLB All-Star Game: Start time, rosters, how to watch and stream

The National League will once again take the field against the American League in this year’s MLB All-Star Game, which starts at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Unfortunately, fans in Philadelphia will only have the opportunity to root for one Phillies player — catcher J.T. Realmuto, who was selected for the second-straight year and is the only member of the team on the National League squad (for the first time since 2014, Bryce Harper wasn’t selected by fans). Former Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana, traded away as part of the Jean Segura deal, is in the starting lineup for the American League, batting clean-up behind perennial All-Star Mike Trout.

Calling this year’s Midsummer Classic for FOX is longtime announcer Joe Buck, who is hated by many Philadelphia sports fans for various reasons even though his stat guy grew up in Roxborough and graduated from Villanova. It’s Buck’s 21st time calling the All-Star Game, but he’s not afraid to criticize aspects of the game, such as a rotating roster of substitutions he says seems “very participation trophy-ish.”

“Why can’t you just have you roster be what it is, and you play the starters, for the most part, the majority of the game,” Buck said on last week’s Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, relaying a story he told an unnamed MLB manager. “And if players don’t like it because they made the trip there and didn’t get to play, well then, be better next year and be a starter, and then you get to play the entire game.”

FOX Sports is also looking to juice up its broadcast with some tech upgrades, including deploying the same flight tracks they use in golf coverage to trace the speed and trajectory of batted balls. They’re also adding two “dirt cams,” at first base and home plate, similar to the “gopher cam” they’ve used for years in NASCAR.

The days of the All-Star Game determining which league hosts the World Series are over, as MLB got rid of the unpopular rule in 2017. Instead, just like last year, home-field advantage will be awarded to whichever team has the better regular-season record.

As far as TV ratings, FOX is hoping for a turnaround from last year, when the broadcast drew an estimated 8.69 million viewers, the lowest audience ever for the All-Star game. According to Sports Media Watch, the event has set record low TV audience ratings in six of the last nine seasons.

When: Tuesday, July 9

Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland

Time: 8 p.m.

TV: FOX (Joe Buck, John Smoltz, Ken Rosenthal, Tom Verducci)

Spanish: FOX Deportes (Ronaldo Nichols, Edgar González, Carlos Alvarez)

Streaming: FOX Sports app (requires cable authentication), Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling TV, Playstation Vue, DirecTV Now (all require a subscription).

Staff writer Matt Breen is in Cleveland covering all the All-Star festivities, and you can follow him on Twitter @matt_breen. Check out inquirer.com/phillies for all our coverage, and sign up for Extra Innings newsletter, written for Phillies fans by Breen, Bob Brookover, and Scott Lauber.

FOX Sports kicks off its live coverage at 7 p.m. on FS1 with a pregame show hosted by Kevin Burkhardt alongside analysts Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas. The crew will switch over to FOX at 7:30 p.m. and broadcast up to the start of the game.

ESPN begins its coverage at 4 p.m. with a special 2-hour edition of Baseball Tonight, hosted by Karl Ravech alongside analysts Ryan Howard, Tim Kurkjian, Mark Teixeira, and MLB Insider Jeff Passan. At 6 p.m. SportsCenter will broadcast live from Progressive Field, hosted by Kevin Negandhi and Sage Steele.

Starting Lineup

1. Christian Yelich, LF, Milwaukee Brewers

2. Javier Baez, SS, Chicago Cubs

3. Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves

4. Cody Bellinger, RF, Los Angeles Dodgers

5. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies

6. Josh Bell, DH, Pittsburgh Pirates

7. Willson Contreras, C, Chicago Cubs

8. Ketel Marte, 2B, Arizona Diamondbacks

9. Ronald Acuna Jr., CF, Atlanta Braves

SP: Hyun-jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers

Reserves

C - Yasmani Grandal, Milwaukee Brewers

C - J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies

1B - Pete Alonso, New York Mets

1B - Josh Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates

2B - Mike Moustakas, Milwaukee Brewers

SS - Paul DeJong, St. Louis Cardinals

SS - Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies

3B - Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals

3B - Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs

OF - Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies

OF - David Dahl, Colorado Rockies

OF - Jeff McNeil, New York Mets

Pitchers

RHP - Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers

RHP - Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds

RHP - Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

RHP - Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks

LHP - Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

RHP - Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

RHP - Mike Soroka, Atlanta Braves

RHP - Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins

LHP - Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers

LHP - Will Smith, San Francisco Giants

RHP - Kirby Yates, San Diego Padres

Starting Lineup

1. George Springer, RF, Houston Astros

2. DJ LeMahieu, 2B, New York Yankees

3. Mike Trout, CF, Los Angeles Angels

4. Carlos Santana, 1B, Cleveland Indians

5. J.D. Martinez, DH, Boston Red Sox

6. Alex Bregman, 3B, Houston Astros

7. Gary Sanchez, C, New York Yankees

8. Michael Brantley, LF, Houston Astros

9. Jorge Polanco, SS, Minnesota Twins

SP: Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

Reserves

C - James McCann, Chicago White Sox

1B - Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox

1B - Daniel Vogelbach, Seattle Mariners

2B - Whit Merrifield, Kansas City Royals

2B - Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees (replacing the injured Brandon Lowe)

SS - Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians

SS - Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox (replacing the injured Hunter Pence)

3B - Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics

OF - Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox

OF - Austin Meadows, Tampa Bay Rays

OF - Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers

Pitchers

RHP - Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros

RHP - Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox

LHP - John Means, Baltimore Orioles

LHP - Mike Minor, Texas Rangers

RHP - Charlie Morton, Tampa Bay Rays

RHP - Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays

RHP - Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins (replacing the injured Jake Odorizzi)

LHP - Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees

RHP - Shane Greene, Detroit Tigers

LHP - Brad Hand, Cleveland Indians

RHP - Ryan Pressly, Houston Astros

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