Six more players named as All-Stars
Right-handed relievers Grant Balfour of the Oakland A's and Greg Holland of the Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chris Tillman, Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann, Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed relief pitcher Mark Melancon and San Francisco Giants closer Sergio Romo were officially named All-Stars on Sunday.
Balfour and Holland will replace inactive pitchers Bartolo Colon of the A's and Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners Tillman replaces Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who pitched Sunday, for the American League squad.
McCann replaces inactive first baseman Freddie Freeman, also of the Braves. Melancon and Romo replace inactive pitchers Jeff Locke of the Pirates and Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals for the National League team.
Balfour, 35, the first-ever Australian pitcher named an All-Star, has a 1.67 ERA with 25 saves in 39 appearances. He has 38 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings and has allowed 27 hits and 13 walks.
Holland, 27, is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA with 22 saves this year. He has 60 strikeouts in 35 innings.
McCann, 29, is batting .291 with 12 home runs and 32 RBI heading into Sunday. He was the MVP of the 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim, Calif. He joins Freeman and closer Craig Kimbrel as the Braves' representatives.
Melancon, 28, is 2-1 with an NL-best 0.81 ERA and two saves in 45 appearances. He is one of five Pirates named to the All-Star team, the most since 1972. Jason Grilli, Locke, Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez are the others.
Romo, 30, is 3-4 with a 2.86 ERA with 21 saves. He has 38 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings pitched.
Tillman, 25, is 11-3 with a 3.95 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 111 2/3 innings. He joins teammates Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Manny Machado as All-Stars, the most Orioles on the squad since 1997.
