MLB Player News

The National League All Star reserves and pitchers were announced on Monday evening, and there was no room for the reigning National League MVP.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was not selected for the All Star team, although he's one of five candidates to take the final spot on the roster in the Final Vote. 

Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant made the team as an injury replacement for the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton. Bryant is one of two rookies on the team, along with Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson. 

The Pirates sent two starting pitchers to the All Star team for the first time since 1960. MLB wins leader Gerrit Cole and fellow Pittsburgh starter A.J. Burnett will both be making their first appearance. 

National League reserves are:

Catchers: Yasmani Grandal, Dodgers; Yadier Molina, Cardinals
First basemen: Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers; Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
Second basemen: DJ LeMahieu, Rockies; Joe Panik, Giants
Third basemen: Nolan Arenado, Rockies; Kris Bryant, Cubs
Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, Giants
Outfielders: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates; Joc Pederson, Dodgers; A.J. Pollock, Diamondbacks; Justin Upton, Padres

National League pitchers are:

Madison Bumgarner, Giants; A.J. Burnett, Pirates; Aroldis Chapman, Reds; RHP: Gerrit Cole, Pirates; Jacob deGrom, Mets; Zack Greinke, Dodgers; Mark Melancon, Pirates; Shelby Miller, Braves; Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies; Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers; Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals; Max Scherzer, Nationals; Michael Wacha, Cardinals

The five candidates for the Final Vote are:

Johnny Cueto, Reds; Jeurys Familia, Mets; Carlos Martinez, Cardinals; Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers; Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies

The Giants have benched their starting middle infield Monday. Both second baseman Joe Panik and shortstop Brandon Crawford are out against Mets left-hander Jonathon Niese.

It marks the first absence for Panik since May 21 and third for Crawford since three days later.

Crawford has certainly not struggled against southpaws this season. He is batting .333 (20-for-60). Panik has 19 hits in 68 at-bats against them in 2015.

Diamondbacks rookie shortstop Nick Ahmed tied a career best with three hits Sunday against the Rockies. He has accomplished the feat twice this season.

Ahmed had two singles and his eighth double this season in the 6-4 loss. He also scored a run.

The rookie middle infielder has been on a nice run offensively since early June. He is batting .313 with a .360 on-base percentage, .475 slugging percentage and .835 OPS in his last 23 games. He has three home runs, four doubles, nine RBI, 11 runs, six walks, eight strikeouts and two stolen bases in that span.

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada tied a season high with three hits during an 8-0 win Sunday against the Dodgers. He has totaled three hits three times this season.

Tejada had singles in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings. He drove in a run with his single in the seventh.

Tejada, who had two runs and one strikeout Sunday, has multiple hits in two of his last three games. 

Since May 29, he is batting .252 with 10 doubles, nine RBI, 10 runs, eight walks, 24 strikeouts and one stolen base in 31 games.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford was the lone offensive bright spot for his team during a 3-1 loss to the Nationals on Sunday.

Crawford went 1 for 4 with a solo home run, his 12th of the season.

Crawford is hitting just .228 over his last 10 games, but he does have eight hits, three home runs and seven RBI.

The National League starters for the All-Star Game were announced Sunday, and leading the way after an impressive first half is Nationals slugger Bryce Harper, who racked up nearly 14 million votes to pace the field. 

Harper entered Sunday's game with a .344 average, 25 home runs and 60 RBIs, numbers that have him squarely in the conversation for the Triple Crown. He'll be joined in Cincinnati by players from an array of teams, unlike the AL's Royals-heavy squad. 

Catcher: Buster Posey, Giants
First baseman: Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
Second baseman: Dee Gordon, Marlins
Third baseman: Todd Frazier, Reds
Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta, Cardinals
Outfield: Bryce Harper, Nationals
Outfield: Matt Holliday, Cardinals
Outfield: Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 

Diamondbacks infielder Chris Owings collected three hits during Friday night's 4-3 victory over the Rockies. 

Owings finished the game 3 for 5, with all three of his hits going for singles. For Owings, it's his fourth game getting three hits. Since June 1, Owings has only posted three multi-hit games. Owings is now slashing .239/.262/.332.

Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed is getting a break on Friday, as he is being held out of the starting lineup against the Rockies. Ahmed had started each of the last 11 games for Arizona, hitting at a .262 clip with three homers and six RBI over that stretch.

He'll cede the shortstop duties to Cliff Pennington, who is hitting eighth on Friday.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford hit his 11th home run of the season in Wednesday's loss to the Marlins.

Crawford hit a solo blast off Marlins starter Dan Haren in the sixth inning. He finished the game 1 for 4 with a RBI.

Over his last six games, Crawford is hitting .273 with six hits, two doubles, two home runs and five RBI.

Marlins center fielder Dee Gordon went 1 for 4 with a RBI in his team's win over the Giants on Wednesday.

Gordon hit his fourth triple of the season in a three-run third inning for the Marlins. With the hit, Gordon extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Over his 12 game hit streak, Gordon is hitting .333 with 18 hits, four doubles, two triples and four RBI.