Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. earned starting spots for the American League in the All-Star Game.
The starters, chosen by a fan vote, were announced Friday night.
Six Blue Jays advanced to the second phase of fan voting (the top two at each position and the top five outfielders) — which ended earlier Friday. George Springer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. finished fourth and fifth among outfielders, respectively, Santiago Espinal was the runner-up to Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros in the race for second base, while Beau Bichette was second to Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox at shortstop.
Only two outfielders from the second phase received spots as the top vote total in the first phase — New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge — already earned a spot.
Springer just missed out with 20 percent of the vote — two percent behind Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees.
Kirk received a whopping 74 percent of the vote against Jose Trevino of the Yankees, while Guerrero had 66 percent of the vote against Ty France of the Seattle Mariners.
Pitchers and reserves will be revealed on Sunday. They are determined by a vote of the players and the commissioner’s office.
Blue Jays ace Alec Manoa and closer Jordan Romano will compete for spots.
Guerrero is headed to the All-Star Game for the second year in a row, while Kirk will make his Classic debut in midsummer.
“Very emotional, for me and my whole family. We’re very, very close and we still can’t believe it,” Kirk said before Friday’s game in Seattle.
Kirk is slashing .312/.399/.491 with 10 homers and 33 RBI, while Guerrero is at .268/.350/.490 with 19 homers and 54 RBI.
The All-Star Game is July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Toronto’s record for players in the All-Star Game was seven in 1993.
2022 All-Star Kickoff
American League
C: Alejandro Kirk (Toronto Blue Jays) 1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays) 2B: Jose Altuve (Houston Astros) 3B: Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox) SS: Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox) OF: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), Giancarlo Stanton (New York Yankees), Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels) DH: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels)
National League
C: Wilson Contreras (Chicago Cubs) 1B: Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals) 2B: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Miami Marlins) 3B: Manny Machado (San Diego Padres) SS: Trea Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers) OT: Ronald Acuña Jr. ( Atlanta Braves), Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers), Joc Pederson (San Francisco GiantsDH: Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies)
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