MLB All-Star Game: SF Giants righties Alex Cobb, Camilo Doval shut down AL

A pair of SF Giants right-handed pitchers, Camilo Doval and Alex Cobb, headed to Seattle for the 2023 MLB All-Star Game. Here's how they did.

Despite having a handful of worthy candidates, the SF Giants rolled into the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday evening with two representatives, closer Camilo Doval and starting pitcher Alex Cobb.

Cobb and Doval each completed shutout innings of work in their first-career All-Star appearances, leading the National League to a 3-2 victory and breaking the American League's nine-game winning streak dating back to 2012. 

Alex Cobb: 1 IP ⭐️ 0 H ⭐️ 0 ER ⭐️ 1 BB ⭐️ 1 K pic.twitter.com/zZlMtBL4vH

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 12, 2023

Cobb pitched the bottom of the fourth inning for the National League and was immediately greeted by American League MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani, who he walked on six pitches. After unleashing a wild pitch to advance Ohtani to third, Cobb bounced back by striking out Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena. He later retired Toronto’s Bo Bichette on a flyout to right and induced a groundout off the bat of Tampa Bay’s Yandy Diaz to retire the frame.

All in all, Cobb fired 17 pitches and nine strikes–11 of them were sinkers.

Doval showcased his electric stuff in the bottom of the seventh, recording a first-pitch out when Houston’s Kyle Tucker flew out to left. Julio Rodriguez, Seattle’s own, partook in an entertaining matchup against Doval, seeing four pitches over 100 mph. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Rodriguez whiffed on a cutter up in the zone at 101.2 mph.

Fox play-by-play announcer Joe Davis called the showdown between Doval and Rodriguez “the most exciting matchup” in the All-Star Game up until that point.

Tranquilo Camilo 🌟 pic.twitter.com/PaRELQ10Ej

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 12, 2023

With two down, Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez squared up a cutter up in the zone and wrapped it into the left-center field gap for a double. It’s one of the rare two-strike hits Doval has allowed –– hitters are 4-for-88 during the regular season with two strikes against the flame-throwing righty. Ramirez was stranded at second when Doval got Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman to line out sharply to right field.

In his scoreless outing, Doval threw 16 pitches and 11 strikes. He was also responsible for eight of the hardest thrown pitches all night through seven innings. He was rewarded as the winning pitcher when Coloardo's Elias Diaz put the NL on top in the top of the eighth with a go-ahead two-run blast.

Doval became the first Giants pitcher since Matt Cain in 2012 to be the winning pitcher in an All-Star Game.

Cobb has long-awaited a chance to appear in a Midsummer Classic and is finally now getting the opportunity in his 12th big league season. Along with his status as one of San Francisco’s few true starters in their rotation, the veteran right-hander is among the leaders in top pitching categories in the National League. With a minimum of 80 innings, Cobb is 8th in BB/9 (2.11), 4th in HR/9 (0.60), 5th in ERA (2.91), 5th in FIP (3.04), and 11th in fWAR ( 2.1).

At 35-years-old, Cobb became the fourth-oldest Giant in franchise history to be selected to the All-Star Game for the first time.

Doval, 26, was undoubtedly deserving of his first-career All-Star Game selection, as he continues to cement himself as one of the best closers in baseball. He’s pitched to a 2.63 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 41 innings of work. His 26 saves are tied for first in baseball with Cincinnati's Alexis Diaz and Toronto’s Jordan Romano. From a Giants franchise standpoint, only Rod Beck had more first-half saves in 1997 with 29.