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American League Defeats National League 4-3 in All-Star Game, Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw Gets The Loss

The American League defeated the National League 4-3 in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night for their seventh consecutive victory.

The American League defeated the National League 4-3 in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night for their seventh consecutive victory.

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander started the game, So-Cal Native and Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bieber struck out the side and won the MVP, and New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman got the save for the American League.

The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the Midsummer Classic with the best record in baseball, and had a NL-best five All-Stars on display in Cleveland.

Unfortunately, for the Boys in Blue, most of them disappointed in the annual showcase.

Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu started the game for the National League in his All-Star Game debut, and threw a scoreless inning to start the game.

Clayton Kershaw followed him in the second inning and allowed the first run of the game when Astros hitters Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley hit a single and a double to start the scoring. Kershaw was credited with the loss.

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Ironically, the first three hits of the game for the American League all came from Astros hitters and they all came off of Dodger pitching. 

George Springer, Alex Bregman, and Michael Brantley became the first MLB team in All-Star Game history to account for the first three hits of an All-Star Game. 

Cody Bellinger started in right field, and despite some witty banter with reigning MVP Christian Yelich during the game, the 23-year-old finished 0-for-2 with two strikeouts before he was replaced after the fourth inning.

Dodgers' right-hander Walker Buehler allowed the second run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez led off the inning with a double down the left field line, and scored two batters later on a single to second base.

The first five hits of the game for the American League all came off of Dodgers' pitchers.

Max Muncy was the final Dodger to appear in the game, as he replaced Ketel Marte at second base in the bottom of the fifth inning. Muncy made a spectacular play on defense in the sixth inning, but finished 0-for-2 at the plate, striking out for the penultimate out of the game.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon homered for the National League, and Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso knocked in two runs with a two-out single past Gleyber Torres in the eighth inning.

However, it was Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo's seventh inning home run off San Francisco Giants' closer Will Smith that proved to be the difference in the game. 

Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts has now lost two consecutive All-Star Games, to go with back-to-back World Series defeats to the Astros and Red Sox.

Thankfully for the Dodgers' faithful, this game doesn't count for home field advantage anymore, but the team definitely went dark when the lights turned up on Tuesday.

Ultimately, how the Dodgers performed in the showcase doesn't matter as much as how they will perform in the second half of the season, in October, and most importantly in the Fall Classic, when they try to win their first World Series title since 1988.

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