The American League defeats the National League, 8 – 6, in the 89th edition of the All-Star Game, played at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. A record ten home runs are hit, including a pair in the 10th inning, by teammates Alex Bregman and George Springer of the Astros off Ross Stripling, as the AL wins its 6th straight and 18 of the last 21 (with one tie) to edge ahead of the NL overall. Bregman is named the winner of the Ted Williams Award as the game’s MVP.

Hitting off his father in front of hometown fans, Bryce Harper wins the Home Run Derby by defeating Kyle Schwarber in the final round. He puts on a tremendous show to connect on 9 straight pitches in a span of 47 seconds to tie Schwarber, then hits the winning 19th shot in the bonus round.

The 2018 Futures Game is played at Nationals Park ahead of the 2018 All-Star Game and it features a barrage of homers, with eight long balls being hit as the United States team prevails, 10 – 6, over the World team. Yusniel Diaz hits two homers for the World team, and he is almost matched by Taylor Trammell of the U.S., who hits one out and has a second ball bounce off the centerfield fence for a stand-up triple. Trammell is named the recipient of the Larry Doby Award as the game’s MVP.

For the second straight year, the Pacific League sweeps the 2018 NPB All-Star Games. They take this one, 5-1. Sosuke Genda breaks a scoreless tie in the 5th when he doubles off Yuta Iwasada to score Nobuhiro Matsuda; Takuya Kai then singles in Game MVP Genda. Andrew Albers gets the win, retiring six of seven batters he faces.

The Cardinals fire manager Mike Matheny just before the All-Star break, following a loss to the Reds that put them just one game above .500. Hitting coach John Mabry and assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller are also let go, while bench coach Mike Shildt is named interim manager, with a permanent replacement expected to be named when play resumes after the Mid-Summer Classic in a few days.