Pinpointing Clayton Kershaw’s race to 3,000 strikeouts was easier to predict than, say, Sunday’s announcement, when the 18-year veteran was added to the National League All-Star team as a “Legends Pick.”

The surprise selection was made by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for Kershaw’s contributions to the game as a three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 MVP during a Hall of Fame-worthy 18-year career.

Kershaw and fellow starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto were named to the National League roster that will be managed by Dave Roberts. Already named as starters were Shohei Ohtani at designated hitter, Will Smith as catcher and Freddie Freeman at first base.

Atlanta will play host to the All-Star Game on July 15, reuniting Freeman with Braves fans after he spent his first 12 seasons with the club.

Outfielder Andy Pages was not selected despite worthy numbers that include a .293 batting average, .835 OPS, 17 home runs and 58 strikeouts.

Kershaw has made just nine starts this season since returning from offseason toe and knee surgeries. His comeback has been impressive at age 37 with a 4-0 record, a 3.43 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings.

He reached a career highlight Wednesday with three strikeouts against the Chicago White Sox to give him 3,000 in his career. He was not only saluted by a sold-out crowd that night, he was lavished with praise again when he was announced as an All-Star for the 11th time during Sunday’s game against the Astros.

“We’ve been through it. I’ve been through it a lot, ups and downs here,” Kershaw said Wednesday about the appreciation he gets from Dodgers fans. “More downs than I care to admit, you know, but the fans tonight, it really meant a lot. And usually I try not to acknowledge anything before the game, just because I try to lock it in a little bit. But it was too hard not to. It was overwhelming to feel that.”

Yamamoto will be headed to his first All-Star Game in his second major league season. He is 8-6 with a 2.51 ERA and has 109 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings. Heading into Sunday’s games, Yamamoto had the third best ERA in the NL, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes (2.03) and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler (2.27).

Roberts, who will manage the NL team, is in charge of selecting the team’s starting pitcher, with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes the leading candidate.

— Doug Padilla

angels’ kikuchi on al all-star team

The first half-season of Yusei Kikuchi’s three-year deal with the Angels has been an unqualified success.

Kikuchi was named to the All-Star team on Sunday afternoon. He was the only Angels player picked to the team.

General manager Perry Minasian announced Kikuchi’s selection in front of the whole team.

“All my teammates were really happy for me,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter. “And Perry came in and delivered a really heartfelt message. It really got to me. It felt a little emotional. After that, I just have this feeling that I want to do something special this team this year.”

Kikuchi, who signed a three-year, $63-million deal with the Angels, has a 2.81 ERA in 18 starts, with 106 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings.

Over his last 11 starts, he has a 2.05 ERA. Kikuchi has cut his walk rate from 13% in his first 13 starts to 5% in his last five.

“The first maybe 10 games or so, I didn’t feel like myself,” Kikuchi said. “I thought something was missing and I thought of making mechanical adjustments and whatnot. Talking to the pitching coaches and GM, they helped me out a lot. The last few starts, I’ve been feeling like myself again. I also have to say thanks to (Logan) O’Hoppe and Travis (d’Arnaud) for leading me. They’re always so prepared. I can trust them.”

This will be Kikuchi’s second All-Star Game. Kikuchi, 34, was also selected in 2021 when he was with the Seattle Mariners. He did not pitch in the All-Star Game that summer in Colorado.

Outfielder Jo Adell was the other Angels player who had a reasonable case to be an All-Star selection. Typically, a few players pull out of the game in the final week for various reasons, so there is still a chance that Adell could be named as a replacement.

— Jeff Fletcher

NATS FIRE MANAGER MARTINEZ, GM RIZZO

Manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo were fired by the Washington Nationals on Sunday amid their sixth consecutive losing season since winning the 2019 World Series.

The move came after the Nationals were swept by the Boston Red Sox. They are 37-53, and the only other National League club with a worse record is the Colorado Rockies.

Owner Mark Lerner announced the change, saying senior VP and assistant GM Mike DeBartolo would take over on an interim basis.