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MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Matheny had quite the choice for the National Leagues All-Star starter. Air Max 270 React Sale . 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." Vapormax Plus Wholesale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Jordan 1 Cheap .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. http://www.cheapairmaxchinawholesale.com/air-max-95-outlet/air-max-95-black-sale.html . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide.BOSTON -- Patrice Bergeron scored two goals, and the Bruins beat the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 on Thursday night in the first meeting between the teams in Boston since the deciding game of the Stanley Cup finals. Bergeron scored his first goal at 11:50 of the first period, and the Bruins broke the game open with goals by Carl Soderberg and Bergeron in a 13-second span early in the third. Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots in posting his NHL-leading seventh shutout. Chicago, fourth in the Western Conference, remained one point short of clinching a playoff berth for the sixth straight season. The Eastern Conference-leading Bruins rebounded from a 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday that ended Bostons 12-game winning streak. In their last 14 games, the Bruins have outscored opponents 51-19. The Blackhawks, the NHLs highest-scoring team, played without Patrick Kane, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner last season as the post-season MVP. Chicagos second leading scorer is expected to miss the rest of the regular season because of a knee injury. In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins allowed two goals in the last 76 seconds as the Blackhawks clinched their second championship in four seasons with a 3-2 victory. Brian Bickell tied it with 1:16 to play aand Dave Bolland scored the winner with 59 seconds left. Air Max 720 Outlet. But on Thursday, the Blackhawks had few good scoring opportunities. Their last solid bid came when Jeremy Morin unleashed a hard, 30-foot shot from the left side that a sprawling Rask plucked out of the air with his glove. Bergeron began the scoring when he tipped in Matt Bartkowskis shot from the left point as the puck eluded goalie Corey Crawford. Soderberg made it 2-0 with his 14th of the season at 5:28 of the third period. Johnny Boychuks shot was stopped by Bruins forward Chris Kelly in front, and it went to Soderberg, who shot quickly from 15 feet. Just 13 seconds later, Bergeron was credited with his 25th goal after a video review. Crawford had gone behind his net, and when he tried to get back in front, he knocked the net out of position as the puck was heading toward it. Officials ruled that the puck would have gone into the net had it been in place. NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game for firefighters, Lt. Edward J. Walsh and Michael R. Kennedy, who died Wednesday in a fire in the Back Bay section of Boston -- not far from TD Garden. ... Bergeron has a career-best, five-game goal streak. ... The Bruins are 6-0 when they take a 1-0 lead into the third period. ' ' '