CHICAGO -- Though the Royals announced Saturday night that Salvador Perez will start the All-Star Game on Tuesday, Perez is disappointed his friend, and Rays catcher, Wilson Ramos will be sidelined with an injury.
Perez and Ramos are from the same hometown of Valencia, Venezuela, with Ramos a couple years older. Ramos exited the Rays' 19-6 win over the Twins on Saturday with left hamstring tightness, telling reporters that he will miss the All-Star Game and expects to go on the disabled list.
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"It's sad, because Wilson deserved to be over there," Perez said. "When they played [in Kansas City] this year, they went to my house for dinner. We're pretty close."
"Though [Ramos] is not going to play, I hope at least he can be there, enjoy the moment and have fun with us. Hopefully he'll get healthy quick."
Perez, who is hitting .221 with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs, is making his sixth consecutive All-Star appearance and fifth straight start. Ramos topped American League catchers with 2,359,726 votes and is slashing .297/.346/.488 with 14 home runs this season.
Although Perez's start comes at the expense of Ramos' injury, the Royals' backstop still gets excited at playing in the event.
"It's fun, from the first one to tonight, when I get there, it's gonna be fun," Perez said. "It's family time, you and the best players in the world, you know? And the feeling of being teammates for a few days, it's fun for me."
The 89th Midsummer Classic will be televised live on FOX at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday from Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
Worth noting
• The Royals have set their rotation for the first three games coming out of the All-Star break against the Twins. Danny Duffy will start Friday, Jakob Junis will go Saturday, and Brad Keller gets Sunday's finale.