CINCINNATI (AP) – Hometown All-Star Todd Frazier has won the Home Run Derby at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, outslugging Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson 15-14 in the final round Monday night in the first year of a bracket format.
The 86th MLB All-Star Game: Tonight at Great American Ball Park (7:00 p.m./FOX)
The Reds’ Frazier defeated Texas’ Prince Fielder 14-13 in the first round and dispatched Toronto’s Josh Donaldson 10-9 in the second round.
Red-clad fans chanted Frazier’s name and cheered his every homer throughout the night. Tied entering his 30-second bonus round, Frazier hit the first pitch for the title.
Pederson advanced by beating Baltimore’s Manny Machado in the first round 13-12 and topping the Angels’ Albert Pujols, the derby’s No. 1 seed, 12-11 in the second round.
For the first time, players were seeded and placed in an elimination bracket. They had four minutes per round and each hitter received a 30-second bonus for hitting two drives farther than 425 feet.
Ticket prices continue to drop in advance of game time.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the median ticket price on SeatGeek, a secondary market website, was $960 on June 13. On Monday, the median price was listed at $645.
This fall continues the trend of this past month, which has seen a 33 percent drop in ticket prices for the game. In the past week alone, the median price has dropped 17 percent from $776 on July 6.
SeatGeek content analyst Chris Leyden says the decline is consistent with past All-Star Games as sellers look to unload tickets before the event.
The cheapest seats for the 86th Midsummer Classic are in the left field bleachers, which cost about $419 a ticket.
Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke will start for the National League and Houston Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel will be on the mound for the American League.
The 31-year-old Greinke is 8-2 with a big league-best 1.39 ERA and enters the game following five straight scoreless starts over 35 2-3 inning. The 27-year-old Keuchel, with a distinctive long, bushy beard, is 11-4 with a 2.23 ERA.
The AL will open the game with an all right-handed-hitting lineup for the first time.