Matt Harvey, not Clayton Kershaw, named NL All-Star starter

Giants manager Bruce Bochy on Monday named Mets pitcher Matt Harvey as the starter for the National League All-Star team, over Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. The move was expected, as Harvey gets to start in front of his home crowd at Citi Field in New York.

Harvey is 7-2 and is first in the major leagues in FIP (2.17), first in xFIP (2.70), third in strikeouts (147), fourth in ERA (2.35) and 11th in innings (130). He was scratched from his scheduled Saturday start for the Mets with a blister, but will start for the NL on Tuesday.

"It really wouldn't have mattered what city we were playing in with the year he's had," Bochy said with a straight face. "He would have been the starter anywhere."

Kershaw is 8-6 and leads the major leagues in ERA (1.98), is second in innings (145⅓) third in FIP (2.52), fifth in strikeouts (139) and 10th in xFIP (3.13).

Kershaw has tormented Bochy's Giants throughout his career. He is 11-4 with a 1.32 ERA in 21 games, including 20 starts against the Giants, and in 2013 Kershaw is 3-0 and has allowed four runs in 32 innings.

Last week, Kershaw said he had "no problem" with Harvey starting the All-Star Game in his home park.

The last time the major league leader in ERA didn't start the All-Star Game was all the way back in .... 2012, when Jered Weaver at 10-1 with a 1.96 ERA was passed over in favor of Justin Verlander (9-5, 2.58).

Harvey is the first Met to start an All-Star Game since Dwight Gooden, who started in both 1986 and 1988. The only other Mets pitcher to start the midsummer classic was Tom Seaver in 1970.

The last Dodgers pitcher to start the All-Star Game was Brad Penny in 2006.