American League vs. National League Prediction & Picks: MLB Odds for All-Star Game, July 14

A nearly unfathomable amount of pitching firepower will be on display during this year's MLB All-Star Game, and that's the focus of my American League vs. National League prediction.

It'll be Dylan Cease vs. Cristopher Sanchez to start. But that's just the beginning of the imposing hurlers, which is why I expect the Over hitting during last year's All-Star Game to be an outlier.

It all gets underway from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with the National League entering as the -142 favorite.

⚾ American League vs. National League picks & odds today

See all of our experts’ MLB picks based on the latest MLB odds; picks rated on a 1-to-5 star confidence scale based on betting value.

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🏆 Who will win American League vs. National League?

The theme of the evening is star power being everywhere, but pitching has been a force in this game recently, and it's difficult to envision the American League hitting anything with authority. Facing Sanchez, Chase Burns, Jacob Misiorowski, Chris Sale, Paul Skenes, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all in the same evening is true nightmare stuff.

Score prediction: National League 5, American League 2

💰 American League vs. National League prediction & best bet

Under 7.5 (-104)

The managerial approach to the All-Star Game has been the same for a long while now. Starting position players stay in for about two at-bats before the parade of reserves begins. Ditto for pitchers, who generally get one inning apiece.

But now that All-Star Game turnstile has been combined with fiery velocity. Every inning there's a new, fresh flamethrower facing batters who don't get a chance to adjust to what they're seeing.

The result has been a whole lot of Unders in recent games. Last year was a rare exception, but the game averaged 6.4 runs the five years prior.

🔥 Best American League vs. National League player prop bet

Dylan Cease 2+ strikeouts (+100)

Dylan Cease leads the American League in strikeouts (148) and all of MLB in K/9 (13.5). But that only scratches the surface of his dominance, and why he's becoming an increasingly strong Cy Young odds contender.

He does more than just power a fastball by hitters, though there's plenty of that with his four-seamer generating a .199 expected batting average. The slider playing off that heat is the truly unfair weapon, and it's led to Cease's 98th percentile whiff rate.

Put it all together, and his strikeout rate has skyrocketed from 29.8% last year to 36.5% now.

💣 American League vs. National League home run prediction

Ben Rice to hit a home run (+1000)

Give this wager the slightest sprinkle because of the immense amount of home run suppression ability coming from each bullpen. Prices are only available for starters in this market, too. Cease leads MLB with an HR/9 of just 0.5, so steering clear of NL hitters is wise.

Which leads us to Ben Rice. Yes, Sanchez is plenty daunting too. But he's endured a rough patch recently, which includes nine round-trippers allowed over his past seven starts, three of which came two outings ago when he was beaten up for nine earned runs.

Sanchez's hard-hit rate sits in just the 19th percentile, and his sinker, the hurler's most-used pitch, comes with a .512 expected slugging percentage. Rice can take advantage of that and the friendly dimensions for lefties at Citizens Bank Park.

🚀 American League vs. National League same-game parlay

The likes of Cease, Skenes, Yamamoto, Misiorowski, and Cam Schlittler throwing from the same mound and in the same game makes backing the Under and a strikeout prop an easy call. Toss in a more conservative play on Rice, and we get to a juicy three-leg SGP.

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💡 How I'm betting American League vs. National League: MLB strategy

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Until we go back to a home run derby for a second straight night and an offense-filled exhibition, backing both the Under and the napalm-throwing pitchers is the right approach to the All-Star Game.

That's what I've done, and I'm leaning on Cease for the latter. The only risk there is that his last start featured a no-hit bid that lasted into the ninth inning and he threw 118 pitches. But he's accustomed to a heavy workload, as that was his fifth straight outing with 100-plus pitches. And after six days of rest, he'll be able to ramp it up for just one inning.

📊 Live American League vs. National League odds

The National League is getting a significant amount of the action at DraftKings, with 72% of the moneyline bets going in that direction, along with 80% of the run line bets on -1.5.

There was a gargantuan lean toward the Over on 9.5, which was generating 94% of the wagers. But as expected, the number then plummeted to 7.5, and betting is almost evenly split. We've likely already seen all the downward movement there will be on the total.

📺 How to watch American League vs. National League

• Date: Tuesday, July 14
• First pitch: 8 p.m. ET
• Ballpark: Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia)
• TV: FOX
• Streaming: MLB.TV
• American league starter: Dylan Cease (6-4, 2.56 ERA)
• National League starter: Cristopher Sanchez (11-4, 2.62 ERA)