NEW YORK - Roger Clemens was picked for his first NL All-Star team Sunday and Mike Piazza was elected by fans to start the July 13 game in Houston, putting the Rocket in line to throw the opening pitch to his nemesis.
Clemens, a nine-time All-Star in the American League, was among five starting pitchers voted to the National League team by major league players, managers and coaches. With a 10-2 record, Clemens is likely to start for the NL.
Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki overtook the Yankees' Hideki Matsui for the final AL outfield spot.
Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa were elected to start in the NL outfield.
Carlos Beltran, traded from Kansas City to Houston last month, was voted an AL reserve, his first All-Star selection.
Six Yankees were picked, including three starters in the infield - Derek Jeter at shortstop, Jason Giambi at first base and Alex Rodriguez at third base. They are joined by outfielder Gary Sheffield and relievers Mariano Rivera and Tom Gordon.
Texas' Alfonso Soriano was elected to start at second and received the most votes in either league, 3.47 million.
Detroit's Ivan Rodriguez was elected to his 10th All-Star start at catcher. Anaheim's Vladimir Guerrero and Boston's Manny Ramirez were voted to start in the outfield along with Suzuki.
Three St. Louis infielders were elected to start for the NL: Third baseman Scott Rolen was the top NL vote-getter at 3.19 million and was joined by first baseman Albert Pujols and shortstop Edgar Renteria.
Oakland's Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were voted by the players, managers and coaches to the AL team as starting pitchers along with Boston's Curt Schilling, Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia and Texas' Kenny Rogers. Anaheim's Francisco Rodriguez and Texas' Francisco Cordero were elected as relievers.
Voted on as reserves were Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez, Boston first baseman David Ortiz, Cleveland second baseman Ronnie Belliard, Texas third baseman Hank Blalock and shortstop Michael Young, and outfielder Carl Crawford of Tampa Bay.
Joining Clemens among the NL starters are the Mets' Tom Glavine, Arizona's Randy Johnson, San Francisco's Jason Schmidt, the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano. The relievers are Los Angeles' Eric Gagne, Cincinnati's Danny Graves and Florida's Armando Benitez.
Elected as reserves were Atlanta catcher Johnny Estrada, Cincinnati first baseman Sean Casey, San Diego second baseman Mark Loretta, Florida third baseman Mike Lowell, Pittsburgh shortstop Jack Wilson, Houston outfielder Lance Berkman, Cubs outfielder Moises Alou and Florida outfielder Miguel Cabrera.
Jack McKeon and Joe Torre will manage the two teams.
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