Hyde on decision to start Burnes Wednesday, All-Star omissions, Westburg's All-Star selection (updated)

Orioles ace Corbin Burnes could have started tonight on regular rest and faced the Yankees Sunday in the last game before the All-Star break. Instead, he follows Dean Kremer on Wednesday and is available to pitch Tuesday for the American League.

The Orioles hold a three-game lead over the Yankees going into tonight, adding to the importance of the weekend series.

“We put a lot into it and got input from everybody,” manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon. “We just came down to the conclusion of let’s keep him on regular rest. It’s going to be so important for us to have him in the second half.

“Hopefully, he’s going to start the All-Star Game. We’ll see what happens there. But we need him for the second half, so we decided to keep him on regular (turn).”

Burnes hasn’t confirmed whether he’s attending the All-Star Game following the birth of twin daughters. He wanted to discuss it with his wife Brooke.

“She's already told me to go,” he said Sunday in Oakland. “So I'll see what the final decision is in the next day or so. But if I do go, definitely honored to be a part of it.

“It's a fun week. It's kind of one of those you never know when it's going to be your last. So I understand my wife's sentiments on me having to go to the game. We'll see what happens, but definitely just an honor to be selected.”

The Orioles celebrated Burnes’ selection but also lamented the oversights, snubs or exclusions, depending on who’s doing the evaluating of the roster.

Hyde called Burnes into his office with the good news but also had to break the bad with a group of finalists.

“Struggled with how to handle that, honestly, because you definitely want to recognize the two guys that were voted in and Burnsie voted in, also,” he said. “For me, Corbin, that was a no-brainer. He’s the best pitcher in the American League, so I thought that was already in stone. And then as you start getting the news and there’s nobody else on that day, then, how do you handle that a little bit?

“I think everybody understands, and we talked about it as a team after the game in Oakland. So hopefully these guys are motivated to have good second halves.”

The Red Sox informed Major League Baseball that third baseman Rafael Devers won’t go in order to rest his sore shoulder, perhaps opening the door for Jordan Westburg, a finalist at the position who lost out to Cleveland’s José Ramírez.

“Definitely deserves to go,” Hyde said. “Hoping that some of our guys go as still deserving replacement player for guys who can’t go that were selected. But all of these guys for me had All-Star first halves and that’s why we were disappointed in Oakland. It’s a lot of guys in that clubhouse that for me deserve to go and Jordan’s definitely one of them.

“He does everything right. He literally does everything right. The way he prepares, the way he plays.”

Hyde had an example ready from today’s hitters’ meeting, going back to the blowout loss in Oakland.

“We’re down 12-0 in the fourth,” Hyde recounted. “Jordan’s at first base and Mounty (Ryan Mountcastle) hits a base hit to right field. Westy goes first to third. Now, that sets up Austin Hays for a sac fly. It’s an RBI for a teammate. It sets up the bottom part of the order to have guys on base. It just epitomizes who he is. He just plays the right way, so hard. Prepares incredibly well. He does everything right.”

He also says the right things, refusing to put anyone on blast for his failure Sunday to land a reserve spot on the All-Star Game.

“Obviously, the way he’s handling the media, he’s doing a great job at that, as well,” Hyde said. “He’s just very, very professional and a really, really good player. I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to manage him, as well as so many other guys in there.”

Players who don’t make the All-Star team get a much-needed break after a grueling stretch in the first half. That’s the silver lining.

“I was fortunate to go to one All-Star Game as a coach and there’s a lot that goes to going to that game,” Hyde said. “From the practice day to the media stuff to the game, Home Run Derby, all that stuff, there’s a lot. Not a ton of relaxing that happens. But it’s something you definitely want to experience and you definitely pull for your guys to go to that kind of thing. But for guys to get a few extra days’ rest, I think it’s great.”

For the Cubs

Nico Hoerner 2B
Michael Busch 1B
Cody Bellinger CF
Seiya Suzuki RF
Ian Happ LF
Christopher Morel DH
Dansby Swanson SS
Miles Mastrobuoni 3B
Tomás Nido C

Jameson Taillon RHP

Update: Westburg is an All-Star. It's official. He's the replacement for Devers.

Westburg is batting .281/.328/.506 in 83 games, with 20 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 49 RBIs. He's been a solid defender at third and second base and gives the teams some of it's best at-bats.

The outcry over the Rangers' Marcus Semien making it instead of Westburg is quieted.

Westburg gives the Orioles four All-Stars to match last summer's total. He joins Burnes and starters Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman.

Westburg took the high road earlier today about his snub while surrounded at his locker.

“I understood it,” he said. “There are a lot of good players in this league, and so just to be in those conversations, I was very honored. I felt blessed. It’s disappointing. I don’t know how many times I'll get that opportunity in my career, but at the end of the day I’m not going to live and die by that decision. I’m going to enjoy the time off with my wife at our home. It'll be fun.”

Not as much fun for the Texas native as bringing her to Arlington.