Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun will replace injured Matt Holliday on the National League All-Star roster this week in Cincinnati and Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw, who lost out in the final fan vote to Carlos Martinez, was added to the roster to replace Max Scherzer who pitched yesterday for Washington.
According to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, Braun learned that NL manager Bruce Bochy had added him to the squad barely an hour before the first pitch of Sunday’s game at Dodger Stadium, and quickly altered plans for a quiet week at home in neighboring Malibu, where Braun and wife Larisa were planning to host a family gathering during the break.
Of Braun’s six All-Star nods, this is his first since he was suspended in 2013 for violations of Major League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
This is his fifth consecutive All-Star honor for Kershaw, the most for a Dodgers pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela (1981-86). The only other with five straight is Sandy Koufax.