It's officially California's All-Star Game: San Diego's Jake Peavy will take the mound for the NL tonight, while Jim Leyland has tapped Oakland's Dan Haren to start for his AL squad. Leyland, who passed over his own Justin Verlander, admits it came down to venue; the AL-manager wants to give the Frisco crowd a bay-area name.
But Haren's nothing to shake a stick at: The righty is 10-3 with an AL-best 2.30 ERA. An injured Peavy posted ugly numbers last year, but is 9-3 at the break with a 2.19 ERA, the second best in the NL. Neither young hurler seems intimidated by an studded line-up. "I'll challenge him," says the 26-year-old Haren of hometown favorite Barry Bonds, whose AT&T Park will host tonight at 8 p.m. ET. (More All Star Game stories.)