Dariel Alvarez is selected to start the Triple-A All-Star Game, Norfolk sends four to game

The Norfolk Tides will send four players to the Triple-A All-Star Game. Outfielder Dariel Alvarez was elected to start the contest, while catcher Steve Clevenger and pitchers Michael Bowden and Oliver Drake have been selected to the team as reserves.

This is the most Tides players selected to the game since 2000, when Norfolk was a Mets affiliate, and most they've had since becoming the Orioles' top affiliate.

Alvarez is batting .270 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. He ranks among International League leaders in total bases (second, 135), homers (tied for fourth,, 12) and hits (fifth, 83). Signed by the Orioles out of Cuba as a free agent on July 24, 2013, Alvarez ranked third in the International League with a .340 average and six home runs in the month of June. He's rated as the Orioles' No. 5 prospect by Baseball America.

Clevenger has hit .331 with two home runs and 21 RBIs in 45 games for Norfolk this season. He's batted .455 (5-for-11) over two stints with Baltimore and he's approximately 30 plate appearances shy of qualifying among the IL leaders, where his .331 average would rank second in the league. Clevenger ranks fifth among IL catchers as he's thrown out 28.3 percent of attempted base stealers.

Bowden, acquired April 2 from Cincinnati for cash consideration, has gone 6-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 22 games (eight starts) for the Tides. His 2.17 ERA leads the International League, and he ranks third in the league with a 1.13 WHIP. Bowden established a Tides franchise record earlier this season by not allowing an earned run over a 28-inning stretch from May 12-June 12.

Drake is 1-1 with 12 saves and a 0.67 ERA in 24 relief outings with the Tides. Selected by the Orioles in the 43rd round of the 2008 draft out of Navy, he is fourth in the IL with 12 saves and has held IL batters to a .132 average. He's registered 18 consecutive scoreless outings with the Tides and has not allowed a run since April 26. Drake has also made five appearances with Baltimore this season, posting a 3.52 ERA in his first major league season.

Norfolk and Charlotte each led the International League with four All-Star representatives. It is the first time the Tides have had four Triple-A All-Star Game participants since 2000, when first baseman/outfielder Ryan McGuire, outfielder Jason Tyner, catcher Vance Wilson and right-hander Eric Cammack were all selected to the contest.

The International League will take on the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 15 in Omaha, Neb. The game will be broadcast live on MLB Network at 7 p.m.