A pair of right-handers -- Cincinnati’s Alfredo Simon and Washington’s Tyler Clippard -- will replace starters Johnny Cueto and Julio Teheran on the National League roster for Tuesday’s All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced.
MLB All-Star Game 2014: Tim Hudson, Alfredo Simon, Tyler Clippard, Huston Street added to National League roster
Injuries and pitching schedule conflicts have landed Clippard, Hudson, Simon and Street in the Midsummer Classic.
Stephen Dunn
Additionally, Giants starter Tim Hudson will replace teammate Madison Bumgarner, who also started Sunday, and Padres reliever Huston Street will take teammate Tyson Ross’ spot on the pitching staff, the league announced.
Jordan Zimmermann might not be ecstatic about only having one teammate represented in Tuesday's All-Star Game, but at least there's a chance a National will take the field now. Zimmermann himself was named to the National League squad, but he will not play due to a biceps cramp. Had Clippard not been chosen as a replacement by NL manager Mike Matheny, the first-place Nationals would've been completely absent from the game.
Zimmermann was critical of the lack of Nationals chosen for the team earlier this week, but the addition of Clippard has to be at least somewhat satisfying since Washington's holds leader was competing with Padres' closer Huston Street for the final spot. Clippard certainly deserves it, having posted a 2.03 ERA in 40 innings despite dealing with his highest batting average on balls in play (.312) since 2008.
Reds' starter Alfredo Simon was also selected to fill in, as Ken Rosenthal first reported. He was stretched out for the rotation after Mat Latos was shelved due to knee surgery. In 116⅔ innings, Simon has put together a 2.70 ERA and an 85.1 percent strand rate -- only Dodgers righty Josh Beckett has been better at 86 percent. Some of that is due to luck and the skill level of defenders, but Simon has been huge for the Reds, who have been dealing with some inconsistency at the back end of their rotation.
The Giants will be swapping out Bumgarner for Hudson on the roster as well, according to CSN Bay Area’s Andrew Baggarly. Bumgarner will be inactive since he is starting for the Giants on Sunday, and Hudson, who has a 2.87 ERA, is more than deserving of the honor.
No matter what you think about it, the game matters, so Matheny will need a full roster at his disposal while attempting to earn home field advantage for the league in the World Series.
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