Two Cardinals selected as All-Star Game starters

The 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, being played on July 14 in Cincinnati, will feature two members of the St. Louis Cardinals in the starting lineup.

Jhonny Peralta earned his first start in the All Star Game with the fan vote; he previously attended the All Star Game in 2011 and 2013 as a member of the Detroit Tigers, serving as a reserve in each of those appearances. Peralta currently leads the Cardinals in batting average (.297), home runs (11) and RBIs (42).

Outfielder Matt Holliday was named as a starter despite being out since June 8 with a quad strain. His status for the game remains in doubt. Prior to his injury, Holliday was posting a slash line of .303/.417/.421, having hit three home runs and accumulated 26 RBIs. This would be the Cardinal left-fielder's 7th career All-Star appearance, his fourth with St. Louis and first since 2012.

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Starting rosters

National League:

C - Buster Posey, Giants

1B - Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks

2B - Dee Gordon, Marlins

3B - Todd Frazier, Reds

SS - Jhonny Peralta, Cardinals*

OF - Bryce Harper, Nationals

OF - Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins (unable to play due to injury)

OF - Matt Holliday, Cardinals* (likely unable to play due to injury)

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American League:

C - Salvador Perez, Royals

1B - Miguel Cabrera, Tigers (unable to play due to injury)

2B - Jose Altuve, Astros

3B - Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays

SS - Alcides Escobar, Royals

OF - Mike Trout, Angels

OF - Lorenzo Cain, Royals

OF - Alex Gordon, Royals

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Pitchers and reserves will be announced tomorrow night.

A likely Cardinal position player reserve that will be named to the roster tomorrow will be Yadier Molina, who was beat out for the starting spot by Buster Posey. The latest ballot update, released on June 29, showed Molina trailing Posey by a sizeable margin for the No. 1 spot.

Other position player contenders include Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter and Jason Heyward. This would be Wong's first All Star Game, Carpenter's third consecutive and Heyward's second.

Wong, who leads the Redbirds in stolen bases, trailed Dee Gordon by roughly 1.5 million votes in the latest ballot released, while Frazier overtook Carpenter's lead. Heyward is possibly on the outside looking in, but his recent offensive surge could be enough to land him a spot as a reserve.

Carpenter last played in the All-Star Game in 2013. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, who was at the helm of the NL last July, elected not to play his third baseman in the 2014 contest.

Possible pitching contestants for this year's edition could include Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha and Trevor Rosenthal.

Martinez (9-3, 2.70 ERA) and Wacha (10-3, 2.66) would each be making their first appearance in the contest. Wacha's 10 wins trail only Gerrit Cole (12) for the most in the National League, while Martinez is tied with Bartolo Colon and Max Scherzer for 3rd place on the list.

Martinez currently ranks 10th in the NL in strikeouts (105), while he and Wacha rank 8th & 9th among NL starting pitchers in WAR (Martinez 2.5, Wacha 2.4).

Rosenthal's 24 saves are a tie for 2nd place in the League with the Nationals' Drew Storen; they trail only Pittsburgh's Mark Melancon for the saves lead (27). The Cardinal closer's 0.70 ERA leads all pitchers in the League who have accumulated two or more saves, and his 2.2 WAR leads all NL relievers.

Each pitching candidate would be named to their first All-Star Game if chosen.

The pitcher and reserve selection show will be live on ESPN at 7 pm Eastern / 6 pm Central.