When Michael Bourn did not earn an All-Star selection on Sunday, he was admittedly disappointed. As this week has progressed, he has focused his attention on attempting to help the Braves win. But there is no doubt he is still hoping to receive an All-Star invite.

With Chipper Jones no longer among his competitors, Cardinals third baseman David Freese is hanging onto the top spot in the National League portion of the 2012 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Firestone.

With a little more than 24 hours remaining until Thursday's 3 p.m. CT finish, Jake Peavy remained second in the 2012 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Firestone per results released Wednesday.

Rangers manager Ron Washington joked that he going to get “carpal tunnel syndrome” from voting for pitcher Yu Darvish. Apparently others feel the same way.

A day after injuring his left hand during batting practice, outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis managed to avoid the disabled list. But that did not stop the Mets from bringing in some bench insurance, recalling Jordany Valdespin from Triple-A Buffalo and designating left-handed reliever Justin Hampson for assignment.

Perhaps lost amid the resurgence of Adam Dunn, the continued and consistent excellence of Paul Konerko, the emergence of Chris Sale as one of the best young pitchers in the game, and even the success of first-year manager Robin Ventura, A.J. Pierzynski has put together an exceptional first half.

The corn should be as high as an elephant's eye. The lighting of not only barbecues but fireworks is encouraged. Americans are gathering at ballparks, national parks and neighborhood parks to celebrate a birthday. Those are historic givens. But what does the Fourth of July mean in relation to the baseball season these days?

Making up for lost time after struggling for the better part of the season, Coco Crisp continued his torrid stretch from the leadoff spot, starting off his club's contest against the Red Sox with a home run and capping the 3-2 affair with a walk-off sacrifice fly on an 0-2 pitch from closer Alfredo Aceves, marking Crisp's third career game-ending RBI.

Wei-Yin Chen retired the first 19 Mariners batters he faced before Casper Wells broke up his perfect game bid with a solo home run, then saw the bullpen lose a three-run lead in the eighth before Robert Andino's solo home run in the ninth gave the Orioles a 5-4 victory Tuesday at Safeco Field.

In his second day with the club, Luis Cruz doubled in the tiebreaking run and stole home as the Dodgers rallied to beat the Reds and Johnny Cueto on Tuesday night, 3-1.

Andrew Cashner was pulled with a strained right lat muscle early in the Padres' fourth straight victory, 9-5, over the D-backs at Chase Field.

Each day, MLB.com selects one player from each game whose performance stands out.

Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe both homered early, and Ryan Doumit provided a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to help lead the Twins to an 8-6 win over the Tigers on Tuesday night at Comerica Park.

A.J. Burnett and Joel Hanrahan endured some uncharacteristic struggles but the Pirates rallied on their behalves, with Drew Sutton's walk-off home run punctuating a Pittsburgh rally from four runs down in an 8-7 win over the Astros on Tuesday at PNC Park.

Tyler Colvin, obtained this winter from the Cubs in a four-player deal, hit his 10th home run of the season, for all of the team's runs, and left-hander Jeff Francis, reclaimed from the obscurity of Triple-A, threw five solid innings in a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Dan Haren was hit around from the start, failed to complete five innings for the first time since May 8, couldn't hold onto a lead the offense fought hard to gain and put the Angels on track for a 9-5 loss.

The White Sox hit four home runs, scored nine runs in the fifth inning and banged out 21 hits en route to a 19-2 rout of the Rangers on Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field. Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-6 in his home debut and All-Star left-hander Chris Sale improved to 10-2.