Astros, Red Sox, Indians each have 5 All-Stars
Major League Baseball announced the All-Star rosters Sunday night with the Astros, Red Sox and Indians leading the way with five players each.
Reigning MVP Jose Altuve is one of the five representing the World Series champion Astros, having led the fan balloting with 4.8 million votes.
The other Astros joining him will be starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, and third baseman Alex Bregman and outfielder George Springer as reserves. Verlander will be inactive for the game as he is scheduled to pitch for the Astros two days before the July 17 game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
Outfielder Mookie Betts and designated hitter J.D. Martinez are in the American League’s starting lineup representing the Red Sox and will be joined by teammates Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel and Mitch Moreland.
Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez will start for the American League, joined on the roster by teammates Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley.
The rest of the starting lineup for the American League consists of Tampa Bay Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Manny Machado, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.
The Atlanta Braves led the National League with four players, tying the Yankees. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman and outfielder Nick Markakis were voted in as starters and will be joined by teammates Mike Foltynewicz and Ozzie Albies.
Freeman was the leading vote-getter among National League players with more than 4 million votes in fan balloting.
The National League’s starting roster also includes hometown selection Bryce Harper in an outfield that also includes Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Markakis. The Cubs will have two starters in catcher Willson Contreras and second baseman Javier Baez, with the rest of the starting roster consisting of Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Nationals starter Max Scherzer highlights the starting pitchers for the National League, along Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets, Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies, Miles Mikolas of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jon Lester of the Chicago Cubs, Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the aforementioned Foltynewicz.
Besides Kluber, Sale, Bauer, Verlander and Cole, the starting pitchers for the American League include Luis Severino of the New York Yankees, J.A. Happ of the Toronto Blue Jays and Jose Berrios of the Minnesota Twins.
Fans will also have the chance to vote in the final All-Star for both leagues.
The American League final vote players are Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario, Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura, Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons and New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.
The National League final vote players are Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar, San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy and Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner.
