Dickerson named starting DH for AL All-Star team

It wasn’t a good day for the Tampa Bay Rays on the field, but they got some good news off the field.

Designated hitter Corey Dickerson was named a starter on the American League All-Star team, which was announced Sunday evening on ESPN. Dickerson is fourth in the AL in batting average at .321 and also has 17 home runs and 40 RBIs.

Dickerson will be the first non-pitcher to start the All-Star Game from the Rays since third baseman Evan Longoria and outfielder Carl Crawford were starters in 2010. The All-Star Game is scheduled for Tuesday, July 11 in Miami.

Dickerson was the only member of the Rays named to the All-Star team. But first baseman Logan Morrison still has a chance to get to Miami. Morrison is one of five players vying for the last spot on the AL roster. Fans have until 4 p.m. Thursday to vote. The other four candidates are Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers, Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox, Didi Gregorius of the New York Yankees and Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals.

On the field, the Rays failed to complete a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, falling 7-1.

Manny Machado hit a three-run homer, and Kevin Gausman pitching seven shutout innings for Baltimore.

The Orioles (40-41) concluded the first half of their schedule with a victory that was particularly special because of the contributions from Machado and Gausman, two key players who have thus far failed to reach their potential.

Machado has 16 home runs and 41 RBIs, decent numbers that don’t quite offset his .217 batting average. Gausman (5-7) lowered his ERA to 5.61, hardly solid but at least it’s under 6.00 for the first time in nearly a month.

Rays manager Kevin Cash watched from the dugout uncomfortably, and not only because Tampa Bay played poorly. Cash fractured his left foot and sprained his left ankle Sunday morning after stumbling on a railroad track while running through the streets of Baltimore.

Cash took a seat on the bench with his foot propped on a pail, rather than manning his usual post near the railing. He sent pitching coach Jim Hickey out to make a pitching change, too, but insisted that the mishap would not hamper his ability to run the team.

He tried to downplay the injury, asking a cameraman not to take a picture of the boot he’s supposed to wear.

Of more concern to Cash was the manner in which Gausman dominated the Rays.

“That’s about as well-pitched of a game that we’ve had against us this year or at least in a long time.”

Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb (6-6) gave up seven runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings. He was 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA in nine previous appearances against the Orioles.

This story was originally published July 2, 2017 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Dickerson named starting DH for AL All-Star team."