Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. elected to start in MLB All-Star Game

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. were elected Thursday to start in the July 11 MLB All-Star Game at Seattle’s Safeco Field.

Ohtani led the American League with 2,646,307 votes and will make his third straight All-Star start at designated hitter. He also was the AL’s starting pitcher in 2021.

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Acuña led all players with 3,082,600 ballots and was elected to start for the fourth time. Acuña topped the National League for the third straight year, while Ohtani received the second-most votes of any player.

The pair were chosen under rules that began last year and give starting spots to the top vote-getter in each league in the first phase of online voting, which began May 31 and ended Thursday. Others advanced to the second phase, which runs from 12 p.m. ET on Monday to 12 p.m. ET on June 29. Votes from the first phase do not carry over.

An individual can vote once per 24-hour period.

Remaining starters will be announced on June 29. Pitchers and reserves will be revealed on July 2.

American League finalists:

Catcher: Jonah Heim, Adley Rutschman
First Base: Yandy Díaz, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Second Base: Whit Merrifield, Marcus Semien
Third Base: Matt Chapman, Josh Jung
Shortstop: Bo Bichette, Corey Seager
Outfield: Yordan Alvarez, Randy Arozarena, Adolis García, Aaron Judge, Kevin Kiermaier, Mike Trout