Cubs rookie Kris Bryant hit nine home runs in the first round of the Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders on Monday at Great American Ball Park, but the slugger accepted an early exit as he was bested by Albert Pujols of the Angels.

Toronto’s Josh Donaldson, who aptly uses the Twitter handle @BringerofRain20, rained a barrage of blasts at Great American Ball Park during Monday’s Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders. Donaldson advanced past Anthony Rizzo in the first round of the new bracket format before bowing out to home crowd favorite, Todd Frazier, in the semifinals.

Participating in the Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders for the first time, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went up against Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays in the first round Monday at Great American Ball Park — and fell, 9-8.

Todd Frazier had just brought the capacity crowd at Great American Ball Park to its feet in the second round of his victorious Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders, raising the fans to a roar as he hit the pitch that would move him into the finals.

Prince Fielder put on a show, hitting 13 home runs in just over four minutes, but hometown favorite Todd Frazier heated up and eliminated the Rangers’ slugger in the first round of Monday’s Home Run Derby in Cincinnati.

Manny Machado hit a dozen homers in his first Home Run Derby, but he was eliminated when Joc Pederson bested him with 13 in this year’s new timed, bracket format.

Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson peppered pitch after pitch in the seats at Great American Ball Park during Monday’s Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders, falling just short of topping the hometown favorite, Todd Frazier of the Reds, who won, 15-14.

From his vantage point as a newcomer to Washington, Max Scherzer has not had all that much time to process his opinion of Bryce Harper. He hasn’t needed much, either, to see what everyone else does.

Commissioner Rob Manfred, appearing at his first All-Star MLB.com Town Hall Meeting, answered nearly two dozen questions from fans via e-mail and in person Monday at the Duke Energy Convention Center.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen was 24 years old when he made the first of his now-annual trips to the All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile. Now 28, McCutchen looks around the National League clubhouse and into the American League dugout and marvels at the young talent on both sides.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have committed $30 million to a new joint initiative focusing on “improving the caliber, effectiveness and availability of amateur baseball and softball programs across the United States and Canada.”

American League All-Star Team manager Ned Yost says he has worked out a plan with White Sox manager Robin Ventura to find a way to get Chicago ace Chris Sale in the All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile on Tuesday.

It’s not a matter of marketing to suggest the 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders is a Derby unlike any other. Literally, fundamentally and unmistakably, the Derby — which takes place tonight at 8 ET at Great American Ball Park and will be broadcast live on ESPN and MLB.com — has never looked quite like this.

Grady Root, 11, of Batavia, Ohio, was one of the seven age-group winners in the MLB All-Star Youth Hitting Challenge, a brand-new official All-Star Week even that brought 310 kids to Marge Schott Stadium at the University of Cincinnati on Sunday morning.

MLBPipeline.com’s Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.

The Pirates have nine extra-inning game-tying or go-ahead hits this season, with four of them coming in the past two games. Those nine for the season are tied for the most in the Majors, with the Cubs also having nine. The Cardinals have the next most in the Majors, with eight.

There is no better representation of Clint Hurdle’s new mantra than what unfolded at PNC Park this weekend. The Pirates trailed twice in extra innings Saturday and rallied back to win. On Sunday night, they fought back — again — to win, 6-5.