Juan Soto Wins HR Derby As Rangers Corey Seager Exits Early: Tracker
Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager was one of eight participants in the 2022 All-Star Game Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Seager was the final addition to the Home Run Derby and a late addition to the All-Star Game as a reserve.
We'll track Seager's progress at the Home Run Derby here. So stay here for updates right up to the end.
Final
Washington's Juan Soto and Seattle's Julio Rodriguez squared off in the final.
Rodriguez went first and hit 18 home runs, the fewest he hit in any of the three rounds. He hit 32 and 30 in his first two turns.
Soto then came on to try and overtake Rodriguez. Soto had 15 home runs before his bonus minute, and ended up with 19 home runs to claim the Derby championship.
Semifinals
After Albert Pujols upset Kyle Schwarber, the No. 1 seed, in the first round, Rangers shortstop Corey Seager and the rest of the All-Stars take on Washington's Juan Soto on one side of the bracket. On the other, the New York Mets' Pete Alonso was set to take on Seattle's Julio Rodriguez, who had the most home runs of any player in the first round with 32.
Rodriguez started the semifinals by hitting 30 home runs after hitting 32 in the first round in defeating Seager. Alonso, who is the two-time defending champion, was unable to overtake him and Rodriguez advanced to the finals.
In the other semifinal, Pujols went first and finished with 15 home runs. Soto followed and hit 16 home runs and Soto advanced to the finals to face Rodriguez.
Round 1
Rangers shortstop Corey Seager and Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez started the Home Run Derby as the first head-to-head matchup in Bracket 4. Seager was making his first appearance at Dodger Stadium since he left the organization in free agency to sign with the Rangers.
Rodriguez led off the matchup, during which he got three minutes to hit as many home runs as he could. He hit six home runs in the first minute, during which he hit a home run long enough to earn 30 seconds of bonus time. Midway through his original three minutes, Rodriguez called a time out with 14 home runs.
After the time out, Rodriguez found his groove again and ended with 25 home runs. By the end of his allotted time, though Rodriguez had a full minute of bonus time. With his performance in bonus time, Rodriguez finished with a total of 32 home runs.
Seager went second, having watched Rodriguez's performance from the wings of one of the dugouts at Dodger Stadium. He hit the first two pitches he saw and turned them into home runs as he began his pursuit of Rodriguez. Seager had seven home runs by the end of his first minute and had earned both bonuses. Seager took his time out with 1:32 left and with 10 home runs.
By the end of regulation, Seager had 20 home runs. With the one minute of bonus time, Seager needed 12 home runs in one minute to tie Rodriguez.
With his bonus time, Seager wasn't able to make up the gap, as he hit just four more home runs to finish with a total of 24.
Julio Rodriguez 32, Corey Seager 24 (Rodriguez advances)
The other first-round matchups went like this:
Pete Alonso (defending champion) 21, Ronald Acuña Jr. 19 (Alonso advances)
Juan Soto 18, José Ramirez 17 (Soto advances)
Albert Pujols 20, Kyle Schwarber 19 (Pujols advances)
Pre-Derby
Here are the eight entrants for this year's Home Run Derby:
- Pete Alonso, Mets
- Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
- Juan Soto, Nationals
- Ronald Acuña, Braves
- Julio Rodriguez, Mariners
- José Ramirez, Guardians
- Albert Pujols, Cardinals
- Corey Seager, Rangers
And here are the matchups:
Bracket 1
No. 1 Kyle Schwarber, Phillies vs. No. 8 Albert Pujols, Cardinals
Bracket 2
No. 4 Juan Soto, Nationals vs. No. 5 José Ramirez, Guardians
Bracket 3
No. 2 Pete Alonso, Mets vs. No. 7 Ronald Acuña, Braves
Bracket 4
No. 3 Corey Seager, Rangers vs. No. 6 Julio Rodriguez, Mariners
Rangers pitcher Martín Pérez and Seager will participate in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Pérez was selected as part of the AL pitching staff. Seager was selected to the team on Thursday as an injury replacement for Toronto’s George Springer.
After the break, the Rangers have a one-game road trip to Miami to face the Marlins at 12:10 p.m. central, followed by a 10-game west coast road trip in Oakland, Seattle and Los Angeles to close out the month of July.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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