PHOENIX (AP) – The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase Field have been chosen to host the 2011 All-Star game.

The formal announcement will be made Saturday at a news conference by commissioner Bud Selig.

“I’m excited. It’s a long time coming,” Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said Friday before his team played the Los Angeles Dodgers. “With the NBA All-Star game, which was well-received here, I know our building can be shown off for the first time in that type of scenario. I’m sure the fans of Phoenix are excited about it and it will be well-received here.”

The Diamondbacks, who began play in 1998, never have hosted an All-Star game at what used to be known as Bank One Ballpark before Banc One was acquired by by JP Morgan Chase.

The searing, triple-digit heat of July and the lack of downtown hotel space had been considered obstacles.

But the construction of a major hotel and the expansion of the convention center, across the street from Chase Field have ensured the game and its surrounding events could be held in air-conditioned comfort. The ballpark has a retractable roof that is closed during the summer months and a swimming pool behind the fence in right-center field.

This year’s game is in St. Louis and 2010 will be hosted by the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.

Kansas City was thought to be the front-runner for 2012, but the Boston Red Sox are pressing to host that year for the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park. The New York Mets and Citi Field are the likely host in 2013.

Giants pitcher has concussion

SAN DIEGO (AP) – San Francisco Giants pitcher Joe Martinez has a concussion and three small fractures in his head after being hit by a line drive.

The rookie reliever was stable and alert in a San Francisco hospital Friday, and the Giants said he was expected to make a full recovery. Martinez will remain hospitalized for observation over the next three or four days.

Martinez was struck by Mike Cameron’s line drive on Thursday night, and sustained hairline fractures on the right side of his face. The accident occurred with two outs in the ninth inning of the Giants’ 7-1 win over Milwaukee.

A-Rod ready for next rehab phase

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Alex Rodriguez is to resume baseball activities Monday, more than a month following hip surgery on March 9.

The third baseman has been working out in Vail, Colo., since the operation. The Yankees start a three-game series Monday at the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the three-time AL MVP will resume swinging a bat after he reports to the team’s minor league complex.

Girardi said Friday that Rodriguez has been swinging a broom for the past few weeks and slowly increasing his workload. Girardi doesn’t expect Rodriguez to return to the Yankees before mid-May.

“In my mind, I’m still thinking May 15 – five weeks away. That’s my thought process,” Girardi said before the Yankees helped Kansas City open renovated Kauffman Stadium on Friday.

“We expect him to be there on Monday and doing all baseball stuff, hitting, throwing, running, just continuing his rehab. So far it’s went very well and you just hope there’s no setbacks and he continues to progress.”

In Colorado, Rodriguez has also been lifting weights, riding a stationary bike, working out in a pool and performing range of motion drills.

“I believe he’s swung a broom handle, which is much different than a bat,” Girardi said. “I talked to him through a text just a couple of days ago. He’s excited,” Girardi said.

While swinging the broom handle, Girardi said, Rodriguez has been “hitting something. I’m not exactly sure what it was.”

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