In the state known for everything big, baseball’s best put on a big show in the 94th annual MLB All-Star Game. Arlington, Texas, the reigning capital of the baseball World Series title, hosted the star-studded affair for All-Star Week. Globe Life Field was the site of the last World Series, where the Texas Rangers won the championship. This was the second All-Star Game in Arlington, also the host city in 1993.

More than half of all participants were first-time All-Stars, with 39 players—19 American League and 20 National League—representing all 30 teams in Major League Baseball. 39 ties the mark set in 2013. Twelve veteran All-Stars have eight or more All-Star appearances. Of the active players, Mike Trout, with 11, and Clayton Kershaw, with 10, lead the way. Both did not play on Tuesday.

Make in one-in-a-row for the National League. They lost to the American League, 5-3. After winning last year’s matchup, the NL has lost 12 out of the 13 contests in the All-Star Game. The American League takes back their reign over the NL with the win. The race remains tight, with the American League holding a three-game lead at 47-44-2. During that span, including Tuesday’s victory, the AL scored 388 runs and the NL 380 runs.

The first main events tipped off Monday night with Major League Baseball’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby on primetime TV. A new Derby champ was crowned when Teoscar Hernandez of the LA Dodgers outlasted Bobby Witt, Jr. of the Kansas City Royals. He becomes the first Dodger to win the crown.

Tuesday night, all eyes were on the Midsummer Classic. Living up to the hype, baseball still provides the premier matchup in major sports for all-star games. There is no running up the score or soft hits to avoid injury. It’s the best against the best, whether in the big battle of NL vs. AL, pitchers against hitters, or veterans vs. the newcomers. One matchup that fell into place that wasn’t expected was at the bottom of the first inning, with power hitter Aaron Judge facing rookie pitching sensation Paul Skenes on the mound. The face-off, however, was anticlimactic as Judge took the first pitch for an infield popup to end the inning.

Skenes became the first player in MLB history to be selected to an All-Star Game in the season after he was drafted. In 2023, Skenes was drafted No.1 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates and was chosen by NL Manager Torey Lovullo to get the start. With the start, Skenes pitched a scoreless inning facing four batters. His fastest pitch was clocked at 100.1 mph, and he threw four swings and misses, tied for most by any pitcher.

“I think the coolest part about it is they’re so accepting and welcomed me with open arms into the clubhouse,” said Skenes. “And they’re super supportive, watching my start. It was just really cool. Definitely feel like I’m one of them. At 22 years, 48 days old, he became the youngest pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1986.

After the aces showed dominance, the bats started cracking in the third inning, with both teams posting three runs each. The National League struck first with a three-run home run by superstar Shohei Ohtani. It was his first All-Star home run in four starts in the primetime game.

The American League answered with three runs in the third on three hits, including a double by Juan Soto, who would also score the tying run. The tiebreaker came in the fifth inning when Jarren Duran of the Red Sox belted a two-run homer with two outs, scoring Anthony Santander, who reached base on a single. The next four innings would go scoreless to end the game.

Jarren Duran was named the MVP after his tie-breaking two-run home run to decide the game. “It’s kind of hard to put into words,” Duran said after the game. “But honestly, I couldn’t stop thinking about my family. It’s a surreal moment. … “I mean, All-Star Game, first home run, All-Star Game MVP. I’m just very thankful. It’s hard to put into words. It won’t hit me until I try to go to sleep tonight. Who knows if I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”

Last year’s All-Star MVP was from the Colorado Rockies when Elias Diaz had a game-deciding home run to give the National League their first win in 11 years. This year, Ryan McMahon represented the Rockies. He had one at-bat and struck out. He and the Rockies will return to Denver to start the second half of the season at home against the San Francisco Giants.

‍