Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Trea Turner and outfielder Mookie Betts were selected as National League All-Star starters as they both won Phase 2 and will start the 92nd Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium. Betts and Turner will become the first pair of Dodgers to start the game since 1981 when Fernando Valenzuela and Davey Lopes started the midsummer classic in Cleveland and the first time the Dodgers have had two position players in the starting lineup since 1980 when Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Reggie Smith starred in the 1980 midsummer classic at Dodger Stadium.
Betts, 29, will make his sixth trip to the All-Star Game and his third as starter. He earns his third start in the All-Star game by collecting 30% of the National League outfield vote and will join former teammate Joc Pederson and Ronald Acuña Jr. as outfield starters. Last night, the Nashville native became the second player in Major League Baseball history to record 19 multi-homer games from the leadoff spot, clubbing two solo homers against the Cubs. He is now tied with Alfonso Soriano for the Major League lead in career multi-homer games from the leadoff spot and has 33 career leadoff homers are tied for 14th all-time in Major League history with Hall of Famer Paul Molitor. On the season, he is batting .277 with 20 homers, 45 RBI and a .914 OPS. He ranks amongst the National League leaders in homers (T-5th), slugging percentage (.561, 3rd), OPS (.915, 4th) and runs (58, 3rd). The 2018 American League MVP is in his ninth Major League season, and he is a career .295 hitter with 198 homers and 612 RBI in 1036 games.
Turner, 29, earns his first All-Star start and his second straight appearance. In 82 games with the Dodgers, he is batting .305 with 11 homers and a team-best 59 RBI. He won the shortstop vote by a couple of percentage points over Dansby Swanson, who ended up with 48% of the vote, while Turner earned 53% of the final vote. The 2021 National League batting champion is amongst the NL leaders in batting average (7th), RBI (59, 4th), hits (100, 2nd), doubles (21, T-5th), total bases (158, 7th) and stolen bases (16, 4th). In his Major League career, spanning 771 games, he is batting .303 (939-for-3100) with 173 doubles, 34 triples, 114 homers, 393 RBI and 219 stolen bases.
The 92nd Midsummer Classic will be hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and played at Dodger Stadium for the first time since 1980 and will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game, while Univision will provide Spanish language coverage on radio. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.
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