Kansas City, MO

Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander and San Francisco Giants starter Matt Cain have been named starters for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

American League manager Ron Washington selected Verlander as his starter despite his not-so-impressive first half numbers - 9-5 with a 2.58 ERA and 128 strikeouts - compared to what he accomplished last season.

Washington selected Verlander over Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox (10-2, 2.19 ERA), Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels (10-1, 1.96 ERA) and Tampa Bay's David Price (11-4, 2.82 ERA).

"He is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, not just the American League," Washington said of Verlander. "The joy that I have of giving him the ball tomorrow, he's well-rested. I expect a lot out of him, and I know he expects a lot out of himself."

Verlander posted a 24-5 record with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts en route to winning both the AL Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award last season.

"What an honor it is to start my first All-Star Game," said Verlander, who limited the Minnesota Twins to one run on four hits Wednesday in his fifth complete game of the season.

"I've been to a few in the past and some I haven't had the opportunity to pitch like last year and some I've pitched out of the bullpen. But this is something different, and I'm going to relish every moment and hopefully play a part in helping the American league win," added Verlander, a five-time All-Star but never started in one.

National League skipper Tony La Russa picked Cain over New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.40 ERA), Washington's Stephen Strasburg (9-4, 2.82 ERA, 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings) and Gio Gonzalez (12-3, 2.92 ERA).

"I know Dickey's going to play," La Russa said. "I'm very aware of the first half he's had. The one edge that I thought made sense, we've got Buster [Posey] catching and Matt is equally legitimate as far as getting the honor. And then we're just going to play the game. I can't bet you Dickey will come out in the second or fourth, I just know he's going to pitch in the first half of the game."

Cain, 27, submitted the 22nd perfect game in Major League history at AT&T Park on June 13 against the Astros. His perfect game was the first in franchise history and his 14 strikeouts tied Sandy Koufax's 1965 record for the most in a perfect game.

Cain, a three-time All-Star, is 9-3 with a 2.62 ERA, and he has tallied 118 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings. San Francisco's first-round selection in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Cain did not pitch the two previous times he was a part of the NL All-Star roster.

In 13 games at Kauffman Stadium, Verlander is 9-2 with a 1.83 ERA while Cain pitched eight innings to lead the Giants to victory in his only appearance in Kansas City.

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