The Latest: deGrom to follow Scherzer for NL All-Stars
WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on the All-Star Game (all times local):
10:28 p.m.
Bryce Harper has won the Home Run Derby in his home ballpark, providing another memory to Nationals fans in what could be his final season in Washington.
Harper gave an uppercut fist pump after matching Kyle Schwarber's 18 homers in the championship round on the final swing of his allotted 4 minutes. Because he hit two homers over 440 feet, Harper got 30 seconds of extra time. He launched the winning blast on his second extra swing, holding his bat over his head and walking down the first-base line as it cleared the center-field fence.
The 2015 NL MVP has had an uneven season and the Nationals are stuck at .500 after making four playoff appearances in the previous six years.
The Chicago Cubs' Schwarber hit the most home runs in the derby with 55 through three rounds. But Harper was the only player to get the crowd roaring.
---
10:08 p.m.
Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have advanced to the finals of the Home Run Derby at Nationals Park.
The crowd favorite in his home stadium, Harper needed 13 homers to eliminate the Dodgers' Max Muncy, and he blasted his 13th to right field with about a minute left in his 4 minutes of hitting time.
The Cubs' Schwarber needed 21 homers to eliminate Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies, who had 20. Both players had 37 homers through the first two rounds of the competition.
Harper had the most homers over 440 feet through two rounds with nine.
This is Harper's second Home Run Derby. He previously participated in 2013 and said he would give it another try when the All-Star Game came to Washington.
---
9:20 p.m.
Bryce Harper has advanced at the Home Run Derby with a showy display of power at his home stadium.
Wearing a District of Columbia flag bandanna on his forehead, Harper hit 13 homers at Nationals Park to eliminate Freddie Freeman in the first round of the competition the night before the All-Star Game. He hit six homers measured at more than 440 feet, the most of any competitor.
Rhys Hoskins, Kyle Schwarber and Max Muncy also moved on to the second round.
Hoskins hit 17 homers to eliminate Jesus Aguilar. Schwarber hit 16 to edge Alex Bregman by one, and Max Muncy knocked out Javier Baez, walking out of the batter's box on his 17th homer with about 30 seconds left on the 4-minute clock.
Hoskins, Schwarber and Muncy are the three derby participants who were not named All-Stars.
---
8:55 p.m.
The son of former major league pitcher Bobby Witt has won a competition for high-schoolers during the Home Run Derby.
Bobby Witt Jr. hit eight homers in 90 seconds at Nationals Park to beat Rece Hinds by one.
Witt's dad pitched for seven teams in 16 seasons, winning 142 games. He spent most of his career with the Texas Rangers and was never an All-Star.
The younger Witt has committed to play college baseball at Oklahoma.
Hinds has committed to LSU. He hit a 485-foot homer to the concourse behind the left-field bleachers, a longer blast than any of the four major leaguers who preceded him in the derby.
---
5 p.m.
Dark clouds have rolled over Nationals Park on a hot and humid afternoon, and the grounds crew is poised to cover the field with a tarp as storms threaten the All-Star Game festivities.
Forecasts called for isolated storms in the Washington area in the hours leading up to Monday night's Home Run Derby.
Thunderstorms are also predicted for Tuesday afternoon, but if the forecast holds, they should move out of town before the first pitch after 8 p.m.
---
4:15 p.m.
Bryce Harper says defensive shifts are part of baseball, and there's no way for hitters to change their approach in an attempt to beat them.
Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said earlier this month that his client's numbers are down this season in part because shifts hurt left-handed batters more than righties.
Harper is batting .214 - 60 points lower than any other National League All-Star. His 23 homers are one short of the league lead, and he tops the NL with 78 walks. The 2015 MVP becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
Asked Tuesday how he can beat the shift, Harper said: ''You can't. If you hit a ball in the hole, then you're out. If you hit a ball up the middle, you're out.''
He says one way to exploit a shift is to bunt, ''but you don't get paid to bunt. If you hit it over all of them, that's how you beat it.''
---
3:15 p.m.
Jacob deGrom says he'd love to play his entire career with the New York Mets, but he's not disputing comments by his agent that the team should either sign him to a long-term deal or trade him now.
The All-Star right-hander said Monday that his future with the team ''is kind of in the Mets' control and kind of out of mine.'' He says he has not talked numbers with the Mets on a long-term contract but would be open to those discussions.
DeGrom's agent, Brodie van Wagenen, told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and The Athletic that if the Mets aren't interested in a long-term deal, ''we believe their best course of action is to seriously consider trade opportunities now.'' Van Wagenen added that continuing the status quo ''could complicate Jacob's relationship with the club.''
DeGrom would be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season, when he'll be 32.
---
2:50 p.m.
The AL and NL All-Star managers have revealed the pitchers they'll be using immediately after starters Chris Sale and Max Scherzer.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom will follow Scherzer for the NL. Roberts says he picked Scherzer to start over deGrom because the game is at Scherzer's home ballpark in Washington.
Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch says the New York Yankees' Luis Severino will come in after Sale, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays' Blake Snell.
---
2:20 p.m.
Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will bat sixth for the National League in the All-Star Game in his home ballpark.
Harper is hitting .214 with a .365 on-base percentage, .468 slugging percentage, 23 home runs and 54 RBIs. Despite his hitting struggles, Harper is an All-Star - voted in by fans - for the sixth time in his seven-year major league career.
Nationals teammate Max Scherzer will take the mound for the NL as expected, with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saying it's good for baseball and for the country to give him the ball. Scherzer (12-5) has a 2.41 ERA and a league-high 182 strikeouts.
Sale and Scherzer are both making their third All-Star starts, joining 13 other pitchers with that distinction. Sale is starting for the third consecutive time and is the third player to do that, following Lefty Gomez and Robin Roberts. Both made their first All-Star starts with different teams - Sale for the White Sox and Scherzer for the Tigers.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
