Reds’ Frazier, rookies Bryant, Pederson in Home Run Derby

Midway through his round at the home run derby a year ago, things weren’t going well for Josh Donaldson.

The Angels, whose offense had been languishing near the bottom of the league for most of the season, equaled their club record by scoring in double-digits for the third straight game.

It was the roughest outing of the season for Bettis (4-4), who had become a bright spot in the Rockies rotation. “I missed four pitches up, and it did damage”. Now, can he hit more home runs than a select group of this year’s sluggers? He allowed two runs and eight hits and struck out five in 7 1/3 innings.

Tulowitzki, a four-time All-Star, is hitting.

Pujols said he talked with Major League Baseball and confirmed he will be one of the hitters for the event Monday in Cincinnati. It will be held Monday at Cincinnati, the day before he starts at first base for the American League in the All-Star Game.

Donaldson and Frazier are both competing in their second-consecutive home run derby after also attending last year’s in Minneapolis.

Eighth on the list is Pederson’s 477-foot shot on June 2 off Colorado lefty Jorge De La Rosa.

The Colorado Rockies had a tough ten-game road trip, losing seven of their games and generally playing some bad baseball in San Francisco, Oakland, and Phoenix. “Starting pitching tends to set the tone”.

Bryant said his father, Mike, will throw to him. In 3B Nolan Arenado and 2B DJ LeMahieu, the Rockies will have two All-Stars for the first time since 3B Jeff Cirillo and 1B Todd Helton were selected in 2000….

–Back spasms will keep Washington Nationals center fielder Denard Span on the bench through the All-Star break. Manager Walt Weiss said Morneau hasn’t had any setbacks and the move was made to create a spot on the 40-man roster. Morneau has been out since mid-May with concussion symptoms. A home run greater than or equal to 475 feet will result in 30 bonus seconds. “But at the same time I think it’s important to enjoy it. You get to go out there and take batting practice and hit the ball pretty far, which is something I like to do”.

“In any round, once the second batter (the “home” batter, for all intents and purposes) passes the first batter (“away”) in home runs, the round will be stopped and he will advance”.

While the All-Star rosters have already been announced and the final voting is underway, it typically takes a while longer to piece together the Home Run Derby roster.