Saturday August 23rd, 2025 3:24PM

Seven players from Braves make All-Star game

ATLANTA - Atlanta Braves starter Russ Ortiz finally made it to the All-Star game, but he had other things on his mind.

"Right now, I'm just trying to concentrate on my next start," he said Sunday. "Then I'll really enjoy it."

Ortiz was one of seven players from the NL East-leading Braves to make the roster for the All-Star game, which will be played at US Cellular Field in Chicago on July 15.

Outfielder Gary Sheffield, second baseman Marcus Giles and catcher Javy Lopez were voted in as starters by fans, and shortstop Rafael Furcal and center fielder Andruw Jones were named as reserves.

Ortiz and closer John Smoltz will be part of the pitching staff.

"I wasn't surprised at the number of players," Ortiz said. "You look at the guys that made the All-Star team, you look at the numbers, and they match up with anybody. So I think that's a great barometer of how good we are."

At 55-31, Atlanta is tied with the Seattle Mariners for the best record in the majors. After winning three of four from the Montreal Expos, the Braves lead the East by 7 1/2 games over the Philadelphia Phillies, with Montreal nine games back.

Ortiz, who came to the Braves in an offseason trade, is 11-4, tied for the most wins in the NL. He's won four straight starts, and his ERA is down to 3.50. It'll be his first trip to the All-Star game despite winning 63 games over the past four seasons with the San Francisco Giants.

"I think that's just the way it worked out," Ortiz said. "When I came over here, I wanted to be able to block out what was happening and just become a big part of this team."

Giles took his first All-Star selection in stride. Selected in the 53rd round of the 1996 draft, he wasn't even sure he would be the full-time starter this season. He hit only .230 last year, but he's had a breakout season in 2003.

He's hitting .282 with eight homers and a team-best 27 doubles, good for fifth in the league.

"It's a big honor," Giles said. "You know there's a lot of guys out there who didn't make the team that deserve it."

For Lopez, the selection caps an incredibly resurgent first half of the season. His batting average dropped to .233 last year, but so far in 2003, he's at .307 with 23 home runs and 51 RBIs.

"I feel like I'm being blessed," he said. "It's one of my dreams, to be starting catcher in the All-Star game. I've been in the game twice before but it's not the same once you go as the starting catcher.

"There's a lot of catchers that deserve to be the starting catcher and I was the one selected. I have to enjoy it."

Sheffield will be going to the All-Star game for the seventh time, and he hasn't decided yet if he'll enter the home run contest. He has 22 homers this year.

"I'll have to think about that," he said. "I'm not a guy who hits a lot of home runs in batting practice, so maybe I'll need to practice that over the next couple of weeks."
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