DENVER — The All-Star Game buzz will start with the very first batter Tuesday night.
Washington nationals ace Max Scherzer will start for the National League at Coors Field in Denver against Los Angeles Angeles slugger Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani will be the American League’s starting pitcher and will bat leadoff, too, as the designated hitter in another landmark for the two-way Japanese sensation.
A 27-year-old in his fourth major league season with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is the first two-way starter in the history of the All-Star Game, which began in 1933.
“I was actually not expecting to be chosen as a pitcher at all,” Ohtani said Monday through a translator.