Three Phillies, Judge, Soto, Ohtani among MLB All-Star starters

The Philadelphia Phillies are sending three infielders to the MLB All-Star Game later this month, as Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm were among the starters named for the Midsummer Classic on Wednesday evening.

Turner won out over Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts in a close vote — although Betts wouldn’t be able to play in the game because of a broken left hand. Meanwhile, Bohm will be making his first All-Star start after having won 70% of the final voting over San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado.

Harper, the National League’s leading vote-getter, is currently nursing a left hamstring injury but is expected to play in the game.

“It’s great for the organization,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

The announcement of the All-Star starters came after phase 2 voting closed Wednesday afternoon. It featured the top two vote-getters at each position from phase 1 squaring off, with the loser relegated to potential reserve duty. All-Star reserves will be announced Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

“Hopefully [second baseman Bryson] Stott makes it as well,” Thomson said. “Atlanta had it last year where all four of their infielders made it.”

The New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers and Padres each have two starters representing their respective teams.

For the American League, the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Juan Soto will start together in the outfield, along with the Guardians’ Steven Kwan, who is making his first All-Star appearance and the first for a Cleveland outfielder since Juan Gonzalez in 2001.

The Toronto Blue Jays‘ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will start at first base, with the Astros’ Jose Altuve at second, the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson at shortstop and the Guardians’ Jose Ramirez at third. This is Altuve’s ninth selection, while Henderson becomes the third-youngest AL shortstop to win the fan voting behind Carlos Correa, who was 22 in 2017, and Alex Rodriguez, who started at 21 years old in 1997.

The O’s Adley Rutschman won the voting behind the plate, and the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez did the same at designated hitter. Alvarez narrowly beat out Baltimore DH Ryan O’Hearn in final voting, 52% to 48%.

For the NL, joining Harper, Turner and Bohm in the infield will be Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte, while the Brewers’ Christian Yelich will start alongside Padres teammates Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the outfield.

Profar and Tatis are the first Padres outfielders to earn election since Tony Gwynn in 1999. They also were involved in the closest phase 2 race, as they narrowly beat out Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh for starting jobs.

Brewers catcher William Contreras will start behind the plate, becoming the first Milwaukee catcher to earn election since Ted Simmons in 1983.

Meanwhile, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani gets the nod at designated hitter. It’s Ohtani’s fourth straight start at DH, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat.