ANGELS
Ohtani in Home Run Derby
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani will compete in the All-Star Home Run Derby at Denver's Coors Field on July 12.
The Los Angeles Angels star will be the first Japanese-born player in the derby, held the night before the All-Star Game.
"I always wanted to see a Japanese player participate in the derby and it happens to be me, so it's really exciting for me," he said through a translator Friday.
Some players have gone into slumps after hitting in the derby, finding their swings get out of whack.
"Obviously, I've never experienced this, so I can't really tell you how it's going to affect me in the second half of the season, so I'm just going to just do it and see how it goes," he said.
Ohtani said Angels bullpen catcher Jason Brown will pitch to him.
The 26-year-old outfielder, designated hitter and pitcher has 19 home runs, three behind major-league leaders Fernando Tatis Jr. of San Diego and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Toronto, entering Friday's games. Ohtani is hitting .270 with 47 RBI, and he is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts.
Ohtani won Japan's home run derby in 2016, when he also was MVP of the second of Japan's two All-Star Games.
BREWERS
IF Wong returns
DENVER -- Second baseman Kolten Wong was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday as part of a series of roster moves by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Wong, who had been sidelined by a left oblique strain, was in the starting lineup and back in the leadoff spot for a game at Colorado.
The team also selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Zack Godley from their Class AAA affiliate in Nashville.
To make room for the additions, the Brewers optioned infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes and right-hander Eric Yardley to Nashville. Infielder Jake Hager was designated for assignment.
MLB
Vaccination pace slows
NEW YORK -- The pace of coronavirus vaccinations in Major League Baseball has slowed, with no additional teams in the past week joining the 22 that had already reached the the 85% vaccination threshold for players and other on-field personnel.
Major League Baseball and the players' association said Friday that 85.3% of tier 1 and tier 2 individuals had been fully vaccinated, and 86.5% had received at least one dose.
Previous weekly announcements included just tier 1, and MLB said on June 11 that 83.5% had been fully vaccinated and 85.1% had been partially vaccinated.
Tier 1 includes players, managers, coaches, team physicians, athletic trainers and strength and conditioning staff.
Tier 2 includes ownership, front office staff, travel staff, head groundskeepers and ballpark operations staff.
Once a team reaches 85% vaccinations among tiers 1 and 2, it has the option to apply loosened protocols.
Among changes to protocols made Wednesday, all fully vaccinated players and staff can stop wearing masks in dugouts, bullpens and clubhouses. In addition, fully vaccinated players and staff may eat in restaurants without restrictions and attend sporting events as spectators at venues with government approved safety protocols, the commissioner's office and players' association said in a memo sent Wednesday night.
There was one positive test, involving a player, among 9,104 tests in the past week, a 0.01% positive rate.
So far this season, there have been 66 positive tests -- 37 players, 29 staff -- among 203,523 samples tested, a 0.03% positive rate.
