Major League Baseball roundup

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[July 09, 2015]  July 8 (The Sports Xchange) - The veteran will face off against the rookie in the All-Star Home Run Derby.

Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols will be paired against Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant in the opening round on Monday night in Cincinnati.

The other half of the same bracket has Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado against Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson.

In the opposite bracket, Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier will oppose Texas Rangers designated hitter Prince Fielder and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson goes against Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

The four first-round winners will advance to the semifinals and the two who prevail in the semis will advance to the final.

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Back spasms will keep Washington Nationals center fielder Denard Span on the bench through the All-Star break.

Span, 31, won't be placed on the disabled list for the time being, manager Matt Williams said Wednesday. But Washington's leadoff hitter will see a specialist Thursday to review results of an earlier MRI.

Span, who is batting .304 with five home runs and 22 RBIs and leads the team with 11 stolen bases in 11 attempts, started having back issues during a June 7 loss to the Chicago Cubs. He has missed 25 games during the first half of the season because of injuries.

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The New York Yankees activated center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and left-handed closer Andrew Miller from the disabled list Wednesday.

Ellsbury had been sidelined since mid-May with a sprained right knee. Miller had been out for a month with a strained forearm.

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Ellsbury, in his second season with the Yankees, was off to a solid start before the injury. He was hitting .324 with a .412 on-base percentage, 14 stolen bases and 29 runs scored in 37 games.

Miller had converted each of his 17 save opportunities in his first season in New York.

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The St. Louis Cardinals called up first baseman Dan Johnson from Triple-A Memphis.

The club also optioned left-hander Tyler Lyons (the 26th man for Tuesday's doubleheader) and right-hander Marcus Hatley to Triple-A.

The 35-year-old Johnson, a veteran of nine seasons in the majors, signed with the Cardinals as a minor league free agent in early May. He was batting .265 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs in 61 games for Memphis.

(Editing by Andrew Both)

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