PHILADELPHIA –– Earlier this season, it was Hall of Fame pitcher and current TBS broadcaster Pedro Martínez who gave Justin Wrobleski the nickname “The Shark.”

On Tuesday night, Wrobleski epitomized the moniker by doing something no one had accomplished since Martínez himself more than a quarter-century earlier.

In a two-inning relief appearance in Major League Baseball’s 96th All-Star Game, Wrobleski turned in one of the best individual showings in the National League’s eventual 4-0 loss at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

He struck out the side in the top of the seventh, punctuating a dominant 12-pitch inning by blowing a 97-mph fastball past Rays slugger Yandy Díaz.

Then, after returning to the mound in the eighth, Wrobleski bounced back from a solo home run to Miguel Vargas — his former minor league teammate in the Dodgers farm system — by registering two more punchouts to make some Midsummer Classic history.

Not since Martínez in 1999 had a pitcher struck out five batters in an All-Star Game (the all-time record is six).

Among Dodgers pitchers in the event’s history, Wrobleski tied Fernando Valenzuela (1986) and Don Drysdale (1959) for the most in franchise history.

When informed of his feat postgame, Wrobleski flashed a smile and took a second to let it register.

“Feels pretty cool,” he said.

But then, before indulging any further in his performance, he cracked a self-deprecating chuckle to point out its one flaw.

“Except for [that] I gave up a home run,” he said. “That’s what’s on my mind right now.”

Indeed, the homer was memorable, with Vargas going down to get a low slider and blasting it to the second deck in left field for an insurance-adding solo shot.

“I’m super happy for him, and he’s having an awesome year,” Wrobleski said of his former teammate. “That was cool to see. It just sucks that he hit it off of me.”

Still, Wrobleski’s outing will go down as another highlight moment in his own breakout season, as well –– coming on a night made all the more meaningful by coinciding with his 26th birthday.

“I’m super blessed and lucky to have the chance to do this,” Wrobleski said. “There’s not many guys in history that have had that chance. So pretty cool to play on my birthday. My family’s here. Got to talk to them all day. And yeah, it was super fun.”

That Wrobleski even reached this All-Star Game was an underdog story in and of itself.

This time last year, the left-hander was in the minor leagues, overhauling his pitch arsenal after a rocky start to the season. By October, he had worked his way into a roster spot in the bullpen and pitched important innings in the World Series, but still entered the winter seemingly squeezed out of the Dodgers’ 2026 rotation plans.

Since getting a shot to start early in the season, however, the former 11th-round draft pick has emerged as one of the game’s most productive pitchers, going 10-2 in the first half of the campaign with a 2.69 ERA that ranked seventh in the National League.

“For whatever reason, I’ve always believed I could do it,” said Wrobleski, who has been overcoming odds since a college career that saw him play at three different schools and undergo Tommy John surgery months before getting drafted. 

“Even when it doesn’t look like it’s been something that’s possible, or hasn’t looked like this dream is going to work out, I’ve always had the belief that God’s given me the talent, and I have the ability to be able to do all this stuff. And it’s great to –– not fulfill that –– but prove that I can be really good at the major league level.”

Ironically, the only thing Wrobleski had been missing for most of this year was the ability to put hitters away with two strikes. Over his first 86 ⅓ innings, he recorded only 53 strikeouts. His reliance on soft contact had, to some, made his success feel unsustainable.

In recent weeks, however, Wrobleski has found added life on his fastball, more bite on his secondary stuff and a renewed confidence in his ability to do more than just limit damage.

He struck out 11 batters in a June 30 start against the Athletics and nine more against the Rockies last week to help him earn a last-second All-Star selection as a replacement on the NL roster.

Then came Tuesday, when he showcased his continued development on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

“I’ve been kind of learning and continuing to grow and figure out how to strike guys out and where I can go for a miss,” said Wrobleski, who got two of Tuesday’s Ks on high heaters and the other three on sweepers both in and out of the zone.

“Obviously, in a situation like this, guys are gonna swing a little bit more. But yeah, I made some good pitches today, I got some strikeouts and hopefully can build off that in the second half.”

Wrobleski’s season has gone so well that he has even allowed himself to lean into “The Shark” nickname — something he seemed initially hesitant about after it was bestowed by Martínez in a social media post in June.

For his red carpet entrance on Tuesday, Wrobleski revealed an embroidered shark on the inside of his custom-made jacket.

“We’re trying to roll with it,” he joked. “The people seem to like it.”

After Tuesday’s historic performance, he’s continuing to validate his burgeoning reputation.