Davis, a first-time All-Star, joined Ichiro Suzuki (2001) as the only first-time All-Stars to lead the voting. He finished with 8,272,243 fan votes to beat Miguel Cabrera for the top spot. Cabrera had 8,013,874 votes.

Davis was hitting .316 with 33 homers and 85 RBIs at the start of this week. He was tied for fourth all-time among AL players for the most home runs before the All-Star break. Reggie Jackson had the most with 37 in 1969.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina led the NL fan vote. He is one of five Cardinals’ All-Stars, the most in the NL. Detroit placed a major league-best six players on the AL roster for the All-Star Game.

The All-Star Game will be played on July 16 at Citi Field in New York. The host Mets placed two players on the NL team, pitcher Matt Harvey and third baseman David Wright.

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, 43, will make his 13th All-Star appearance. He is joined on the AL roster by veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon, 40, of the Oakland A’s, who is making his first All-Star appearance since 2005.

Washington outfielder Bryce Harper earned his first All-Star start in the last week of voting. The Pittsburgh Pirates have four players on the NL squad for the first time since 1981.

Home Run Derby: The captains of the All-Star Home Run Derby have made their selections. NL captain David Wright chose Washington’s Bryce Harper, and Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer. AL captain Robinson Cano picked Prince fielder from Detroit and Chris Davis from Baltimore, with his third choice still undecided. The Home Run Derby will take place on July 15 at Citi Field.

StatsWatch: This year’s All-Stars with the most All Star Game appearances, including this season -

• Mariano Rivera, Yankees, 13
• David Ortiz, Red Sox, 9
• Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, 8
• Carlos Beltran, Cardinals, 8
• David Wright, Mets, 7
• Joe Mauer, Twins, 6
• Joe Nathan, Rangers, 6
• Justin Verlander, Tigers, 6

Diamond Notes: Phillies slugger Ryan Howard will be out at least six to eight weeks. Howard needs surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He was batting .266 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs this season…Ryan Braun was activated from the disabled list on Monday by Milwaukee after he missed a month with a bruised right thumb. Teammate Aramis Ramirez went on the DL. He sprained his left knee on April 5 and was out for a month, but the injury has lingered…Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp was placed on the 15-day DL on Monday with joint inflammation in his left shoulder. Kemp was injured while swinging the bat against the Giants last Friday…Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter played in his third minor league rehab game on Monday night with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Jeter, who suffered a broken ankle on Oct. 13 in the AL playoffs, and had surgery, isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break. He played in five spring training games, but a new break occurred that has kept him out all season. “I feel good,” Jeter said. “There’s been no issues whatsoever. I’m trying to push to get there.”…Detroit’s Max Scherzer, who was selected as an All-Star, is the first pitcher to start a season 13-0 since Roger Clemens did it in 1986.

Copyright ã 2013 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.