CINCINNATI (AP) — Here are the latest developments from baseball’s All-Star Game festivities in Cincinnati, where sluggers will compete in a home run derby Monday night before Tuesday’s game to decide home field advantage in the World Series (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
The field at Great American Ball Park is getting soaked as weather officials in Cincinnati warn of thunderstorms.
The National Weather Service says minor flooding near Cincinnati is possible. Another wave of heavy rain is expected to arrive Monday evening.
Only one home run derby has ever been rained out — 1988’s contest in Cincinnati’s old Riverfront Stadium. Last year’s derby was delayed for rain at Minnesota’s Target Field.
There’s only a 30 percent chance of storms for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
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2:25 p.m.
The players’ association and MLB say $30 million for youth baseball and softball development will come from the tax money collected from teams for spending on international players.
Teams spending caused $71.5 million in tax to be collected for the 2014-15 signing period, topped by $36.1 million from Boston.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday the initiative will be called “Play Ball.”
Manfred says its designed to get kids playing baseball in its simplest forms, even if only Wiffle ball or catch.
He says the U.S. Conference of Mayors will help get the program off the ground, with commitments for 120 events already this summer.
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1:25 p.m.
The AL lineup for the All-Star Game:
1. CF Mike Trout, Angels. 2. 3B Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays. 3. 1B Albert Pujols, Angels. 4. DH Nelson Cruz, Mariners. 5. RF Lorenzo Cain, Royals. 6. LF Adam Jones, Orioles. 7. C Salvador Perez, Royals. 8. 2B Jose Altuve, Astros. 9. SS Alcides Escobar, Escobar.
It’s a lineup of all right-handed hitters. The only other time a team opened with an all righty lineup was when NL did it for the first of two games in 1962.
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1:20 p.m.
American League manager Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals sat on a ballroom dais and named his starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game — a selection few would have predicted before the season began: Dallas Keuchel of the surprising Houston Astros.
The bushy-bearded left-hander is 11-4 with a 2.23 ERA for a team that’s a half-game out of first in the AL West after topping the standings much of the first half.
He’s 3-1 against division foes, winning both starts vs. the Angels.
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1:15 p.m.
The scoreless streak is safe for this start.
Yep, Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke has been tabbed for the honor as NL starter by Bruce Bochy, manager of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants.
The 31-year-old Greinke brings a scoreless run of 35 2-3 innings over five starts. He is 8-2 with a league-leading 1.39 ERA.
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1:10 p.m.
The NL lineup for the All-Star Game:
1. CF Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. 2. 3B Todd Frazier, Reds. 3. RF Bryce Harper, Nationals. 4. 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks. 5. C Buster Posey, Giants. 6. DH Anthony Rizzo. 7. SS Jhonny Perala, Cardinals. 8. LF Joc Pederson, Dodgers. 9. 2B DJ LeMahieu, Rockies.
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1:05 p.m.
Commissioner Rob Manfred, overseeing his first All-Star Game, started off Monday’s news conference at the Westin Hotel near Great American Ball Park by announcing that MLB and the players’ association will commit $30 million toward the development of youth baseball and softball.
Manfred said the program will focus on five areas: training coaches, grants to build academies, opportunities for people to play in underserved areas, utilization of former players and defraying the cost of elite play.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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