Baseball

ATLANTA (AP) — Shohei Ohtani will bat leadoff as the designated hitter for the National League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Truist Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be followed in the batting order by left fielder Ronald Acuña Jr.

ATLANTA (AP) — Curveballs have been thrown a curve by a modern game valuing velocity over variety, disappearing from the major leagues by more than 20,000 annually. The Athletics have thrown curves on just 2.5% of pitches this season.

Aaron Judge became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 350 career homers on Saturday and it feels inevitable that the Bronx slugger will join the hallowed 500-homer club sometime in the next several years. He could have plenty of company.

BOSTON (AP) — Many of the Boston Red Sox players started wearing T-shirts during batting practice and in the clubhouse the past week with a quote from teammate Romy Gonzalez written across the front. It says: “Tremendously locked in.

ATLANTA — The Toronto Blue Jays selected shortstop JoJo Parker eighth overall in the first round of Major League Baseball's draft on Sunday. The 6-foot-2 Parker, 18, attended Purvis High School in Mississippi.

DETROIT (AP) — Jorge Polanco and Cole Young hit back-to-back home runs in a four-run ninth inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 8-4 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — José Fermín hit his first major league home run to break a sixth-inning tie in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on a soggy Sunday.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Freddie Freeman blooped a single into shallow right-center with two outs in the 11th inning to score James Outman for the go-ahead run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Sunday for a winning series,