DeGrom would be eligible

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The Cincinnati Reds are much better now than they were a month into the season Dalvin Tomlinson Jersey , and it’s partly because Anthony DeSclafani is much better than they anticipated.

Not only DeSclafani, the pitcher. DeSclafani, the hitter, too.

The Reds return to Great American Ball Park on Thursday to take on the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, but that’s nothing new of late for interim manager Jim Riggleman’s resurgent team.

The Reds have played their last seven games against teams that were in first place or within percentage points of the top spot. They swept the Cubs in four games and won two of three in Atlanta.

“It says a lot for our club that we can play first-place clubs and win these series,” Riggleman said Wednesday following a come-from-behind 6-5 win at Atlanta, the Reds’ ninth victory in 10 games and 12th victory in 15 games.

“(We want to) keep rolling into Cincinnati,” Adam Duvall said after his two-run single keyed a three-run seventh inning that included a Scooter Gennett RBI single.

DeSclafani (3-1, 4.09 ERA) is a big presence during the surge, and not just because he’s won his last three starts — this after missing all of last season and the first two months of this season with multiple injuries. After missing so much time, the Reds simply weren’t sure what they would get from him this season.

His last time out, the right-handed DeSclafani limited the Cubs to two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings, and he contributed the game’s biggest hit Saturday with a grand slam — the first slam by a Cincinnati pitcher in 59 years.

DeSclafani will be yet another bat in the Reds’ order that Milwaukee right-hander Junior Guerra (3-5, 2.82) must be concerned about in the opener of the four-game NL Central series.

The Brewers continue to occupy first place in the division Mackensie Alexander Jersey , but even a three-run ninth inning wasn’t enough Wednesday as they lost 5-4 at home to the last-place Kansas City Royals, whose .313 winning percentage is the second-worst in the majors.

“Even in our losses, we’re making the other team work a lot,” starting pitcher Brent Suter told reporters. “From that respect, I love how we’re playing. (But) it would be nice to win some of these series.”

The Brewers have lost six of their last 10 games, and now they must take on a Reds team that doesn’t look anything now like the team Milwaukee swept in a three-game series April 30-May 2 at Great American Ball Park — losses that dropped the Reds to 7-24. The Brewers have won five of six overall from the Reds this season.

“We just want to keep winning. If we take series after series we’re going to be just fine,” said Reds reliever Jackson Stephens (2-0), who got the win Wednesday with 1 2/3 scoreless relief innings.

The Brewers, conversely, led 1-0 Wednesday, only to have Suter and reliever Josh Hader give up five runs in the seventh inning. Hader allowed a two-run single to Adalberto Mondesi, Lucas Duda’s sacrifice fly and Whit Merrifield’s RBI single — the first time in 27 games this season Hader has given up more than one hit in an inning.

“Josh’s velocity was good. Everything was good,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “He threw the ball well. They jumped on the first pitch, and we’ve seen that a lot lately Eric Rowe Jersey , but he’s been so effective that obviously multiple hits in an inning is something we haven’t seen. They got him today.”

The Reds certainly didn’t get to Guerra when they faced him on April 17.

Guerra didn’t get the decision in a 2-0 Brewers win, but he shut out the Reds on one hit over 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking three. In his career, he is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA against Cincinnati in five games, including four starts.

Most of the current Reds hitters have only a minimal number of at-bats against Guerra, with Eugenio Suarez going 2-for-3 with a homer.

DeSclafani is 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA in five games against the Brewers, starting four of them, but hasn’t faced them since 2016. Ryan Braun is 2-for-10 (.200) against him.

The Latest on the All-Star Game (all times local):

10:28 p.m.

Bryce Harper has won the Home Run Derby in his home ballpark, providing another memory to Nationals fans in what could be his final season in Washington.

Harper gave an uppercut fist pump after matching Kyle Schwarber’s 18 homers in the championship round on the final swing of his allotted 4 minutes. Because he hit two homers over 440 feet, Harper got 30 seconds of extra time. He launched the winning blast on his second extra swing, holding his bat over his head and walking down the first-base line as it cleared the center-field fence.

The 2015 NL MVP has had an uneven season and the Nationals are stuck at .500 after making four playoff appearances in the previous six years.

The Chicago Cubs‘ Schwarber hit the most home runs in the derby with 55 through three rounds. But Harper was the only player to get the crowd roaring.

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10:08 p.m.

Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have advanced to the finals of the Home Run Derby at Nationals Park.

The crowd favorite in his home stadium, Harper needed 13 homers to eliminate the Dodgers’ Max Muncy, and he blasted his 13th to right field with about a minute left in his 4 minutes of hitting time.

The Cubs’ Schwarber needed 21 homers to eliminate Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies, who had 20. Both players had 37 homers through the first two rounds of the competition.

Harper had the most homers over 440 feet through two rounds with nine.

This is Harper’s second Home Run Derby. He previously participated in 2013 and said he would give it another try when the All-Star Game came to Washington.

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9:20 p.m.

Bryce Harper has advanced at the Home Run Derby with a showy display of power at his home stadium.

Wearing a District of Columbia flag bandanna on his forehead Tedy Bruschi Jersey , Harper hit 13 homers at Nationals Park to eliminate Freddie Freeman in the first round of the competition the night before the All-Star Game. He hit six homers measured at more than 440 feet, the most of any competitor.

Rhys Hoskins, Kyle Schwarber and Max Muncy also moved on to the second round.

Hoskins hit 17 homers to eliminate Jesus Aguilar. Schwarber hit 16 to edge Alex Bregman by one, and Max Muncy knocked out Javier Baez, walking out of the batter’s box on his 17th homer with about 30 seconds left on the 4-minute clock.

Hoskins, Schwarber and Muncy are the three derby participants who were not named All-Stars.

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8:55 p.m.

The son of former major league pitcher Bobby Witt has won a competition for high-schoolers during the Home Run Derby.

Bobby Witt Jr. hit eight homers in 90 seconds at Nationals Park to beat Rece Hinds by one.

Witt’s dad pitched for seven teams in 16 seasons, winning 142 games. He spent most of his career with the Texas Rangers and was never an All-Star.

The younger Witt has committed to play college baseball at Oklahoma.

Hinds has committed to LSU. He hit a 485-foot homer to the concourse behind the left-field bleachers, a longer blast than any of the four major leaguers who preceded him in the derby.

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5 p.m.

Dark clouds have rolled over Nationals Park on a hot and humid afternoon, and the grounds crew is poised to cover the field with a tarp as storms threaten the All-Star Game festivities.

Forecasts called for isolated storms in the Washington area in the hours leading up to Monday night’s Home Run Derby.

Thunderstorms are also predicted for Tuesday afternoon, but if the forecast holds, they should move out of town before the first pitch after 8 p.m.

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4:15 p.m.

Bryce Harper says defensive shifts are part of baseball, and there’s no way for hitters to change their approach in an attempt to beat them.

Harper’s agent, Scott Boras, said earlier this month that his client’s numbers are down this season in part because shifts hurt left-handed batters more than righties.

Harper is batting .214 – 60 points lower than any other National League All-Star. His 23 homers are one short of the league lead David Sharpe Jersey , and he tops the NL with 78 walks. The 2015 MVP becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Asked Tuesday how he can beat the shift, Harper said: ”You can’t. If you hit a ball in the hole, then you’re out. If you hit a ball up the middle, you’re out.”

He says one way to exploit a shift is to bunt, ”but you don’t get paid to bunt. If you hit it over all of them, that’s how you beat it.”

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3:15 p.m.

Jacob deGrom says he’d love to play his entire career with the New York Mets, but he’s not disputing comments by his agent that the team should either sign him to a long-term deal or trade him now.

The All-Star right-hander said Monday that his future with the team ”is kind of in the Mets’ control and kind of out of mine.” He says he has not talked numbers with the Mets on a long-term contract but would be open to those discussions.

DeGrom’s agent, Brodie van Wagenen, told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and The Athletic that if the Mets aren’t interested in a long-term deal, ”we believe their best course of action is to seriously consider trade opportunities now.” Van Wagenen added that continuing the status quo ”could complicate Jacob’s relationship with the club.”

DeGrom would be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season, when he’ll be 32.

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2:50 p.m.

The AL and NL All-Star managers have revealed the pitchers they’ll be using immediately after starters Chris Sale and Max Scherzer.

Los Angeles Dodgers Kevin Huerter Jersey