MINOT, ND – District tournaments in Class B Legion Baseball began on Monday.

 

 

 

First Round
#4 Kenmare def. #5 Stanley, 2-1
#3 Burlington def. #6 Crosby, 15-3
Second Round
#1 Surrey def. #4 Kenmare, 10-3
#2 Renville County def. #3 Burlington, 13-3

 

 

Loser Out
#4 Kenmare vs #6 Crosby, 12 pm
#3 Burlington vs #5 Stanley, 2:30 pm
Kenmare/Crosby winner vs Burlington/Stanley winner, 5 pm
Semifinal
#1 Surrey vs #2 Renville County, 7:30 pm
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First Round
#4 Rolla def. #5 Rugby, 7-6
#3 Bottineau def. #6 Harvey, 15-2
Second Round
#1 Cando def. Rolla, 11-2
#2 Velva def. #3 Bottineau, 9-7

 

 

Loser Out
#4 Rolla vs #6 Harvey, 10 am
#3 Bottineau vs #5 Rugby, 12:30 pm
Semifinal
#1 Cando vs #2 Velva, 3 pm
Loser Out
Rolla/Harvey winner vs Bottineau/Rugby winner, 5:30 pm
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First Round
#4 Washburn def. #5 Bismarck Scarlets, 11-1
Second Round
#2 Hazen def. #3 Hettinger-Scranton-Bowman-Lemmon, 6-3
#1 Garrison def. #4 Washburn, 12-2

 

 

Loser Out
#3 Hettinger-Scranton-Bowman-Lemmon vs #5 Bimarck Scarlets, 1 pm MT
Semifinal
#1 Garrison vs #2 Hazen, 3:30 pm MT
Loser Out
#4 Washburn vs Hettinger/Bismarck winner, 6 pm MT
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MLB-HOME RUN DERBY

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Juan Soto bet heavily on his own talent and health by turning down a massive, long-term contract extension from the Washington Nationals. Soto then went to the Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium and showed why he almost certainly can’t lose. Soto won the Derby for the first time Monday night, holding off Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodríguez 19-18 in the final. The 23-year-old Soto hit 53 total homers, beating each of his three opponents by one homer while hitting second each time in the midseason power showcase.

 

With a big celebratory bat flip after the final homer dropped into the stands, Soto became the second-youngest Home Run Derby winner in baseball history — by a single day. At 23 years and 266 days old, Soto is only one day older than Juan González was when he won in 1993. Soto hit a 482-foot blast to right-center while beating Cleveland’s José Ramírez 18-17 in the first round, and he got past 42-year-old Albert Pujols 16-15 to reach the final.

 

Rodríguez was even more impressive in the first two rounds while signaling his arrival on baseball’s biggest stages, particularly when he knocked off two-time defending champion Pete Alonso of the Mets 31-23 in the second round. Only four players had managed to hit 30 homers in a single Derby round before the Mariners’ 21-year-old phenom did it twice, and he finished the night with 81 of them.

 

Soto earns a $1 million prize — a whole lot more than his $700,000 salary this season. Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year contract to stay with the Nationals in a decision first reported by The Athletic last weekend, and he could be traded by the end of the month. That contract would have been the biggest in total value and the 19th-largest by average salary in baseball history.

 

Rodríguez became the third-youngest Derby finalist at 21 years, 201 days old, with only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper getting there quicker. Rodríguez will have another chance to become the youngest Derby winner next year at home in Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, since he’ll still be younger than González was in 1993 or Soto is today.
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MLB-ALL STAR GAME

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will start for the National League tonight in the first All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium since 1980, and Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan will be on the mound for the American League.

 

Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani will lead off for the AL as the designated hitter. Last year, he was the starting pitcher and led off as the DH in the AL’s 5-2 win at Denver. Ohtani is followed in the AL batting order by New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, Boston third baseman Rafael Devers, Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Yankees left fielder Giancarlo Stanton, Minnesota center fielder Byron Buxton, Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, Cleveland second baseman Andrés Giménez and Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk.

 

Atlanta right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will lead off for the NL and be followed by Dodgers center fielder Mookie Betts, San Diego third baseman Manny Machado, St. Louis first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner, Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, Atlanta designated hitter William Contreras, San Francisco left fielder Joc Pederson and New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil.

 

Willson and William Contreras are the first set of brothers to make the All-Star rosters in the same year since Aaron and Bret Boone in 2003. The Contreras siblings are the fifth pair of brothers to start together in the All-Star Game, joining Mort and Walker Cooper in 1942 and ’43, Dixie and Harry Walker in 1947, Joe and Dom DiMaggio in 1949 and Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1992.