Cubs and Red Sox dominate All-Star selections

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox will both have seven players in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game later this month.

The rosters for both the American League and National League teams for the July 15 game were announced on Sunday, with the Red Sox placing four starters and the Cubs three on their respective league teams.

Fans voted for the starting eight players in both leagues, with the players and All-Star managers selecting the balance of the roster. Each league will add another player later this week after an internet vote.

New York fans will get to see three of their Yankee stars as well, as top vote-getter Alex Rodriguez, shortstop Derek Jeter and reliever Mariano Rivera were all selected to the American League team for the game at Yankee Stadium.

"The beauty of it, the fans got to vote eight, the players got to vote 16, at the end of the day, the challenges you have from this seat is you have to make sure there's a representative from each team," NL manager Clint Hurdle of the Colorado Rockies told reporters.

The Tampa Bay Rays, with the best record in major league baseball, did not have any players selected to start. Pitcher Scott Kazmir and catcher Dioner Navarro were added to the AL team.

Among the more notable omissions was Boston's Japanese starter Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-1, 3.12 ERA).

Outfielders Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano and rookie catcher Geovany Soto were chosen to start for the Cubs, while pitchers Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster and third baseman Aramis Ramirez were chosen by NL players. Hurdle added pitcher Carlos Zambrano.

Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis were elected by fans from the World Series-winning Red Sox. Outfielder J.D. Drew, catcher Jason Varitek and closer Jonathan Papelbon were picked by AL players.

The AL starting lineup sees Youkilis at first base, Pedroia at second base, Jeter at shortstop, Rodriguez at third base, outfielders Josh Hamilton of Texas, Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle and Ramirez, and Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer.

The starting lineup for the NL includes Houston first baseman Lance Berkman, Philadelphia's Chase Utley at second base, Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez and Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones, with Soriano, Fukudome and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun in the outfield, with Soto catching.

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Toronto, Editing by Martin Petty)