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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Brett Gardner is an MLB All-Star for the first time in his eight-year career. The Yankees outfielder will replace the Kansas City Royals' Alex Gordon on the American League roster in next Tuesday's Midsummer Classic.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Yankees announced Gardner's selection during the fourth inning of the team's game Thursday, according to the &lt;em&gt;Associated Press. &lt;/em&gt;Gardner, 31, is batting .298 with 10 home runs, 40 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 79 games, and a career-high .856 OPS. He was originally one of the five American League players nominated for the All-Star Game's Final Vote, to determine who received the last spot on the team.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Gordon injured his groin Wednesday night while chasing down a fly ball during Kansas City's game against Tampa Bay. He is expected to miss eight weeks with the injury. Gordon, who also missed last year's All-Star Game due to injury, was batting .279 and was second on the Royals with 11 home runs. He was voted in as the AL's starting leftfielder by the fans.&amp;nbsp;Adam Jones&amp;nbsp;of the Baltimore Orioles will take his place on the lineup card Tuesday.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\u2022 JAFFE: The Anti-All-Stars: The Worst of the First Half of the Season&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 31-year-old Gardner was drafted by the Yankees in 2005 and has played for the franchise his entire career. He joins teammates Mark Teixeira and Dellin Betances on the AL roster.&amp;nbsp;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/07/09/mlb-all-star-game-brett-gardner-replaces-alex-gordon>