Rangers' Jacob Latz stands tall in first All-Star Game: 'I'll never forget that'
· Yahoo Sports
PHILADELPHIA — So, maybe it wasn’t only about family. Turns out, when Jacob Latz got into the All-Star Game Tuesday night, performance mattered, too.
And for an All-Star debut, how’s this: He faced one batter and struck him out. Oh, one other thing, the batter was Luis Arraez, who has the lowest strikeout rate in the majors.
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Latz did him in on six pitches to end the seventh inning of the AL’s 4-0 win that included 15 strikeouts of NL hitters. That’s the most strikeouts for an All-Star pitching staff in a nine-inning game.
Lights Out Latz at the All-Star Game!🔥
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“This has gone even way better than I anticipated,” Latz told The Dallas Morning News moments after the game ended and ahead of a reunion with family and friends. “I mean, I just shook Justin Verlander’s hand and congratulated him on an amazing career. So, moments like that and bonding with the bullpen guys were pretty special. But to be able to get a strikeout in an All-Star Game? I’ll never forget that.”
It wasn’t his first strikeout of Arraez, either.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 14: Drew Rasmussen #57 of the Tampa Bay Rays, Jacob Latz #67 of the Texas Rangers, Louis Varland #77 of the Toronto Blue Jays and manager Derek Shelton #8 of the Minnesota Twins look on before the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)A year ago, Latz had faced him twice in a game at San Diego in relief of Jack Leiter. Got him out on both occasions, the second on a strikeout. Latz leaned into that little bit of history to start Arraez with a slider again for a called strike, just like the last meeting. The plan was to eventually go the changeup, on which he’d struck out Arraez last year, but when Latz tried to throw it, he missed inside. So, he went back to the fastball for a swing and a miss on strike two, then went back to that twice before Arraez eventually missed.
“I kind of tried to feed off of the little success I had last year,” Latz said. “I'm happy I got ahead. The two swings and misses on fastballs is kind of what I wanted to do in that situation, but against that guy, that wasn’t the [initial] plan.”
The best adjust. And that’s what Tuesday night was about: The best against the best.
Latz proved on the national stage what he’s proven to Rangers fans all year.
Against the best, he’s the best option.
More Jacob Latz All-Star week coverage
— Rangers' Jacob Latz takes All-Star moment to honor family's role in his baseball journey
— A grenade in the bullpen? Rangers' Jacob Latz answers fans' questions at the All-Star Game
— Rangers' Jacob Latz is back in Philadelphia, but it's hardly where his All-Star year began
— Sherrington: All-Star Jacob Latz is the best story of Rangers' season
— Who is Jacob Latz? 5 things to know about the Rangers' versatile All-Star closer