Phase 1 of the 2026 All-Star Game voting has come to an end, and to little surprise, Shohei Ohtani received the most fan votes for the National League with 3,341,257.
Ohtani has now been selected to his sixth consecutive All-Star Game and his third straight since joining the Dodgers. Ohtani will get the start at designated hitter over Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, as he has been one of the National League’s best hitters this year slashing .295/.414/.549 with 17 home runs and 46 RBI in 73 games
at the plate.
Whether Ohtani will be voted in for both of his talents, that will be left up to either the Player Ballot or Commissioner’s Office selection, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com, as Ohtani was selected for his two-way talents from 2021-23 with the Angels.
Six other Dodgers have advanced to the second round of fan voting: Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Will Smith.
Checking in on the catchers
Will Smith has been on the injured list over the last two weeks now after dealing with neck stiffness. David Vassegh of AM 570 tweets that Smith has yet to resume baseball activities, and he will miss the duration of the Dodgers’ current road trip.
As for Dalton Rushing, he was back in the lineup on Wednesday after leaving Monday’s game early due to a concerns of a potential concussion. Rushing went 0-4 with three strikeouts, had an extended mound visit with Shohei Ohtani and was confided by both Dave Roberts and Freddie Freeman in the dugout.
Rushing spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA following Wednesday’s win about the support he received in the dugout from his teammates and the embarrassment he felt.
“They always have my back. It’s embarrassing that I need support like that. I’m a grown man. It’s a pretty tough pill to swallow. On both sides of the ball, it was not a great showing. It hasn’t been great as of late. I’m going to be better.”
Valentina Martinez at the California Post shares a sneak peek into Friday’s matchup against the San Diego Padres, where former Dodger Walker Buehler will make just his second start against his former team.
