The American League has dominated the All-Star Game for about a quarter of a century now.

It has won the last nine iterations of the Midsummer Classic dating back to 2012, but I think this massive streak is in jeopardy on Tuesday night.

This roster is in serious turmoil. Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, who are arguably two of the three best hitters in the AL, are both out of this contest due to injury.

Yordan Alvarez, who isn’t far behind, is also out with an injury. Shane McClanahan, Shohei Ohtani and Framber Valdez will not pitch due to injury or rest.

While the AL isn’t the only side here dealing with injury concerns, the impact that will be felt by this group of players should one that’s hard to make up.

Ameican League -112 vs. National League -106

Over/Under 7.5 runs (+104/-125)

(Odds provided by BetRivers)

(8 p.m. ET. FOX)

Five of the top seven players in OPS this season are on the NL roster, and without the same kind of top-end talent this year for the AL, I think runs will be a bit tougher to come by.

Julio Rodriguez is also in the midst of a disastrous season which has seen him slash just .249/.310/.411, so even with the hometown slugger stepping in for an injured Judge, I’m not quite sure it’s actually a positive for the AL.

With the number of pitchers missing here, I also find some serious value in the Over 7.5 runs.

While the Under is always a hot bet in this contest, hitting in 13 of the last 16 All-Star Games, the losses of the above American League pitchers should put the onus on some unreliable relievers.

On top of that, Clayton Kershaw and Spencer Strider, who are both top-five pitchers in the NL, will not pitch on Tuesday night.

The AL lineup lacks quality with Austin Hays, Josh Jung and Jonah Heim rounding out the order, while the NL will roll Sean Murphy — one of the hottest hitters in the game — out at catcher to bat seventh.

He’s followed by the presumable Rookie of the Year, Corbin Carroll, and Orlando Arcia, who is hitting just shy of .300 for the year.

It also should be said that Zac Gallen, who will get the ball for the NL here, stacks up pretty well with AL starter Gerrit Cole.

Though Gallen’s 3.04 ERA may be slightly higher than Cole’s, his 3.62 expected ERA, according to Statcast is actually 22 points better than Cole’s 3.84 xERA.

On top of that, Cole’s strikeout rate is down from 32.4 percent a season ago to 25.8 percent in 2023, and his walk rate has risen to 7.1 percent this season. 

The Yankee certainly has not been the Cole of old, and against this formidable order, he could be in for some serious trouble. Murphy and Matt Olson both rank in the top six in barrel rate this season, and Ronald Acuna is not far behind.

With a bit more contact coming against Cole, things could turn sour very quickly.

I don’t think the AL bats lack enough quality to push this game Under the total given the state of the NL pitching staff, but this is clearly the inferior lineup.

With things being mostly equal between Gallen, Cole and their respective staffs, I think you have to take the visitors as -106 underdogs.

Our pick: National League -106