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 CHICAGO
-- The 2005 All-Star Game takes place on July 12 at Comerica
Park in Detroit, and Nationals right-handers Livan Hernandez
and Chad Cordero will be on the National League roster that
day.
For Hernandez, this will be his second consecutive
All-Star selection. Last season, Hernandez went to Houston,
but didn't play in the Midsummer Classic.
This season, Hernandez is one of the reasons
the Nationals have a comfortable lead in the National League
East. He is 12-2 with a 3.32 ERA and has won 11 consecutive
decisions. Hernandez is on pace to have his first 20-win season.
"It means that I'm pitching well," he said
recently. "Opening Day [against the Phillies], I didn't pitch
a good game, but I knew I was going to be good this year.
I felt 100 percent starting in Spring Training. I knew it
would be different this year. The guys are really playing
good baseball. If you pitch well and the guys are hitting,
you will win a lot of games."
Cordero, who will be making his first All-Star
appearance, is clearly the best closer in the baseball. He
leads the Major Leagues in saves with 29 and is on pace to
earn a Major League record 60 saves. Cordero's ERA is 0.85.
Cordero's best month of the season came last
June. He didn't give up a run in 16 1/3 innings of work, saving
15 games and tying the Major League record for saves in a
month. Lee Smith (Cardinals, 1993) and John Wettleland (Yankees,
1996) are the other closers who have managed the feat. Cordero
has also converted 25 consecutive save opportunities, a franchise
record.
"To be able to do that so early in my career,
it makes me feel even better, and it gives me a lot more confidence.
Fifteen saves in a month. That's awesome " said Cordero, who
was drafted by the Expos in the first round of the 2003 First-Year
Player Draft.
The All-Star Game will be televised nationally
by FOX Sports at 8 p.m. ET and televised around the world
by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide
exclusive, national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide
extensive online coverage and MLB Radio will provide exclusive
play-by-play coverage of the game on the Internet.
Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com. This
story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball
or its clubs.
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