ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 baseball TAG: 9607050063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: HOLIDAY
COLUMN: BASEBALL NOTES
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
Montreal Expos outfielder Henry Rodriguez was picked Wednesday to replace the injured Tony Gwynn on the National League All-Star team.
Rodriguez was hitting .292 with 25 homers and 69 RBI before Wednesday night's game against Atlanta. He was tied for second in homers and tied for fourth in RBI.``Being an All-Star is always great,'' Rodriguez said. ``You don't know if you'll ever be an All-Star even once. It's something you'll never forget.''
Rodriguez becomes the third Montreal All-Star, joining pitcher Pedro Martinez and infielder Mark Grudzielanek.
Rodriguez was chosen over Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa, whose 26 homers lead the league.``It was an easy choice,'' said Braves manager Bobby Cox. ``He [Rodriguez] was next in line. He's outhitting him [Sosa] by about 40 points.''
In other baseball news:
WRIGHT STUFF: Jamey Wright, who was the ace of the Salem Avalanche staff last year, became the first Avalanche alum to make it to the major leagues when he was promoted to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. He was scheduled to make his first big-league start at San Francisco on Wednesday night.
Wright, who began the year with the New Haven (Conn.) Ravens of the Class AA Eastern League, was 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA with the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox when called up. He had 40 strikeouts and 22 walks for the Sky Sox.
Last year, he was 10-8 with a 2.47 ERA in Salem's first season as a Rockies affiliate.
The Avalanche could attest to having another past player in the majors in All-Star second baseman Eric Young, who spent three days in Salem on a rehabiliation assignment earlier this season. Young, however, was an established big leaguer when he pulled his hitch in Salem.
OLYMPIC TEAM SET: The U.S. Olympic baseball team reached the 20-man roster limit by cutting three pitchers and two position players. (Roster in Baseball Scoreboard)
The starting rotation is close to set. Seth Greisinger of Virginia probably locked up the No. 1 job Tuesday night by giving up just five hits and one run over seven innings, leaving the game with a 2-1 lead.
WAGNER STRONG: Former Ferrum standout Billy Wagner was one of several relievers who received kudos from Houston manager Terry Collins after closing out the Florida Marlins in a 4-3, 12-inning victory late Tuesday night.
``Billy Wagner, Todd Jones, Xavier Hernandez and [John] Johnstone came in and shut the door like a good bullpen is supposed to do,'' Collins said.
Wagner came in at the start of the sixth inning and pitched 32/3 innings of relief, yielding no runs and no hits while walking three and striking out three.
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