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Altuve remains close second at 2B in AL vote

Astros star trails Royals' Infante in latest ballot update

HOUSTON -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve remains a close second behind Kansas City's Omar Infante among American League second baseman in the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot update released Monday.

Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Altuve and other #ASGWorthy players

Altuve (6,086,193) trails Infante (6,521,733) by 435,540 votes, which is a wider margin than he trailed last week when Infante overtook him for the first time. Ian Kinsler of the Tigers is third with 3,046,386 votes.

Altuve, who was in the lineup Monday against the Angels after missing the past four games and seven of the past nine with a hamstring strain, was hitting .287 with five homers, 28 RBIs and an AL-best 17 stolen bases entering play Monday. Infante was hitting .229 with no homers and 18 RBIs and has benefited from a Kansas City voting surge that this week has seven Royals leading the voting at their positions.

Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie, who's fourth with 1,367,386 votes, is injured and will be out until after the All-Star break.

Fans can cast their votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on their computers, tablets and smartphones -- using the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, July 2, at 10:59 p.m. CT. For the first time, voting is exclusively online, where fans may submit up to 35 ballots.

Fans may also receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada). Or text VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info.

Following the announcement of the 2015 All-Stars, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast your 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player for each league's All-Star roster. On Tuesday, July 14, watch the 2015 All-Star Game live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2015 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.

MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of All-Star Week festivities.

The 86th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.

Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Tag's Lines. Follow @brianmctaggart on Twitter and listen to his podcast.
Read More: Houston Astros, Jose Altuve