Posey, Scutaro, Bumgarner make All-Star squad

SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants catcher Buster Posey will have a fresh pair of teammates joining him on the National League's All-Star squad, which was announced Saturday.

Posey, elected by fans to start last year's Midsummer Classic, was chosen by players as a reserve for this year's team that will face its American League counterparts on July 16 at New York's Citi Field. Rosters for both teams were announced Saturday on FOX television's MLB All-Star Selection Show presented by Taco Bell.

The other two Giants on the NL contingent are first-time All-Stars: second baseman Marco Scutaro and left-hander Madison Bumgarner. They were added by Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who will pilot the NL team due to his status as the skipper of the reigning World Series champions.

"Last year means a little bit, to be honest," Bochy said, maintaining an unapologetic outlook concerning the selection of Scutaro and Bumgarner.

Posey has reinforced his triumph in last year's Most Valuable Player balloting with another strong performance. The 26-year-old is batting .309 with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs. Besides topping NL catchers with a .519 slugging percentage, Posey entered Saturday ranked among league leaders in on-base percentage, doubles, batting average and extra-base hits. Moreover, according to FanGraphs, Posey accumulated a 3.4 WAR (wins above replacement), second only among NL catchers to St. Louis' Yadier Molina (3.6).

Posey became the fourth catcher in franchise history to make the All-Star team in back-to-back seasons, joining Harry "The Horse" Danning (1939-41), Walker Cooper (1946-48) and Tom Haller (1966-67).

"It's obviously a great honor," said Posey, whose vote total of 7,621,370 last year established a record for National Leaguers. "Going to it last year, I got a chance to see how amazing and special an event it is."

Scutaro, 37, has remained among the NL's top 10 in batting (.311 average) despite enduring multiple aches and pains. He missed six games (June 12-17) after a pitch from Pittsburgh's Tony Watson struck his left pinkie and caused tendon damage. The back pain and right hip discomfort that dogged him during Spring Training have returned. Nevertheless, Scutaro has ranked among the NL's leaders in multiple-hit games for most of the season. The MVP of last year's NL Championship Series, who also stroked the game-winning single in the World Series finale, also remains difficult to strike out. His ratio of 15 plate appearances per strikeout was the Majors' second-best before Saturday.

Bochy was intent on honoring Scutaro, whose solid followup to 2012 made his selection a "no-brainer," in the manager's words. Said Bochy, "You manage an All-Star Game when you win the World Series, and we wouldn't have won the World Series without him."

Scutaro felt truly grateful.

"I spent 10 years in the Majors. It's kind of the end of my career," he said. "To live that experience is special."

Bumgarner improved to 9-5 with a 3.05 ERA after his victorious seven-inning effort Saturday against the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers. His effectiveness has ascended, reflected by his 5-1 record with a 2.25 ERA in his last six outings.

The Giants' first-round selection (10th overall) in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft felt proud to be included among the game's elite.

"I'm very thankful to Boch for doing that," said Bumgarner, 23. "I'm definitely excited and blessed to be a part of it."

To avoid distracting Bumgarner as he approached his outing against the Dodgers, Bochy gave him the good news Friday.

"I had a day to soak it in," Bumgarner said.

The Giants, who have dropped to last place in the NL West, would be in worse trouble without Bumgarner, who has compiled a 6-2 record with a 2.74 ERA in 10 starts following a San Francisco defeat.

"I wasn't going to New York without him," Bochy said.