MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Matheny had quite the choice for the National Leagues All-Star starter. Mike Gesicki Dolphins Jersey . There was his own Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals ace with a 12-4 record and a 1.83 ERA. And there was the Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, 11-2 with a 1.78 ERA and fresh off a 41-inning scoreless streak that ended last week. He chose Wainwright, who will start Tuesday night at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners Felix Hernandez. "Its going to be great catching them," said Milwaukees Jonathan Lucroy, the NL starter behind the plate. "A lot more fun than facing them." When baseballs elite met at Citi Field last year, NL batters managed just three hits in a 3-0 loss. A year earlier in Kansas City, the AL had just six hits in an 8-0 defeat. Never before had consecutive All-Star games ended in shutouts. "Guys are throwing harder. Guys have more pitches," said Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley, making his sixth All-Star appearance and first since 2010. The big league batting average is at a 42-year low. Strikeouts are at an all-time high. Wainwright and Kershaw are on track to become the first pair of qualifying pitchers in one league with a sub-2.00 ERA since the Mets Dwight Gooden and the Cardinals John Tudor in 1985 -- the last time Minnesota hosted the All-Stars. "Aside from having the ability to win two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, I think this has to be one of the highlights of my baseball career to this point," Wainwright said. "One of the coolest things I can say I did is to start a big league All-Star game." Kershaw understood Mathenys decision. "If Im him, Im probably going to pick Adam, too. Its his guy and he had the best half," Kershaw said. Hernandez, the first Venezuela pitcher to start for the All-Stars, also has sterling credentials: an 11-2 record with a 2.12 ERA. He described his task pretty simply: "Just throw zeroes out there and get my team to win. Thats all I got to do," he said. Back in the great pitching era of the 1960s, the game was different. Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal expected to finish what they started. Now, flame-throwers come out of the bullpen in the middle of games. "Youre not getting three, four at-bats off of the starter unless youre in trouble and youre losing the game," said Baltimores Matt Wieters, elected as a starting catcher but sidelined following elbow surgery. "I think for a while it was trying to get the starter out of the game so you can get to that fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guy. And now those fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guys are throwing upper 90s with a good breaking ball." In addition to pitchers, the spotlight will be on New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter. The shortstop, who turned 40 last month, is playing his final season and was selected for his 14th All-Star game. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera got an emotional sendoff last year, the All-Stars giving him a solo bow. When Rivera entered in the eighth inning all other players left him the field to himself. Cal Ripken Jr. was given a tribute at the start of the 2001 game at Seattles Safeco Field when Alex Rodriguez told Ripken just before the first pitch to switch positions and move from third base to shortstop, where the Baltimore star spent most of his career. The 40-year-old Ripken then homered in the third inning. And two years ago, Atlantas Chipper Jones was feted with a standing ovation at Kauffman Stadium when he pinch hit in the sixth inning and singled. What will Jeters All-Star finale be like? "I dont go into things with expectations," he said. "Im looking forward to playing the game. Ive pretty much stopped it right there." The game is being played in Minneapolis for the third time, following the NLs 6-5 win at Metropolitan Stadium in 1965 and a dull 6-1 NL victory indoors at the Metrodome in 1985. Oakland, a big league-best 59-36 at the break, has seven All-Stars for the first time since 1975. It got another win on Monday night when Yoenis Cespedes beat Cincinnatis Todd Frazier 9-1 in the final round to become the first repeat champion of the Home Run Derby since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 99. The Athletics have some incentive for an AL victory in the All-Star game; since 2003, the winners league gets to start the World Series at home, and 23 of the last 28 titles were won by teams scheduled to host four of a possible seven games. "I dont think you can ever underestimate the home-field advantage in a post-season," said AL manager John Farrell, who led Boston to a six-game win over St. Louis last year. "To have that final game potentially in your home ballpark, that goes a long way to affecting the outcome." Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. Jerome Baker Dolphins Jersey .5 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, a deal that covers his final two arbitration seasons.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Vancouver Canucks recovered from a fluke goal early last time out to knock off one of the top teams in the league. Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings made things easy on themselves by not giving up a goal at all. The two streaking clubs meet for the first time this season on Saturday night as the Canucks continue their road trip versus the Kings. After beginning a four-game swing with a shootout loss to Phoenix, Vancouver visited a San Jose club on Thursday that had yet to lose at home in regulation. Things didnt go the Canucks way early, but they stayed composed and earned a 4-2 victory to improve to 6-1-1 in their last eight. Roberto Luongo was a victim of an odd bounce on the Sharks first goal just 1:17 into the game. San Joses Joe Thornton dumped the puck wide and the rolling disc bounced off the back boards, up the net, over the crossbar and off Luongos shoulder before dropping in. However, Luongo recovered to make 22 saves and the offense got goals from Chris Higgins, Zack Kassian, Brad Richardson and Mike Santorelli. "No matter what happens in the game, weve been resilient as far as staying focused," Luongo said. "Just sticking to the game plan. Lots of things have happened already this year, but weve reesponded every time. Robert Quinn Jersey. Thats a really good sign for our team." The only thing that ended up going wrong for Vancouver is that Henrik Sedin was held off the scoresheet, snapping his career-high 12-game point streak. Luongo is 14-9-4 with a 2.21 goals against average and three shutouts in 27 career games versus the Kings, who are coming off a 2-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Quick celebrated his 300th NHL game with his 26th career shutout and first this season. He ended with 19 saves and the Kings got power-play goals from Mike Richards and Anze Kopitar in winning for the sixth time in nine games. "Well its the first time in a while that we did not give up a power-play goal or a penalty-kill goal, so thats a positive and something to build on," Quick said. "Were going to move on. Weve got Vancouver on Saturday and thats the focus now." Kopitar has a goal in three straight games while notching 11 points in his past eight contests. He helped Los Angeles prevail in a game that saw Jeff Carter, Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene all sit out with injuries. Quick has never recorded a shutout versus the Canucks, going 6-10-1 with a 2.04 GAA in 17 meetings. Vancouver is 6-1-2 in its last nine against Los Angeles. Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Discount Jerseys NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '