Dogs take places on SAL stage

The South Atlantic League All-Star Game won't have a shortage of RiverDogs as Charleston manager Torre Tyson and six of his players have been invited to participate in today's festivities at Greensboro's NewBridge Bank Park.

Tyson will serve as an assistant coach to Joe Mikulik, whose Asheville Tourists clinched the Southern Division's first half title on Sunday.

Other RiverDogs invited to the all-star game include pitchers Lance Pendleton, Jonathan Ortiz and Jason Stephens, catcher Jesus Montero, second baseman Justin Snyder and outfielder Abraham Almonte. Montero, the Southern Division's starting catcher, also will be among seven contestants in the home run derby, which begins at 5:15 p.m. The game starts at 7:05 p.m.

Montero has seven home runs this season and will compete against Greensboro's Mike Stanton (15 homers), Hagerstown's Michael Burgess (14), Asheville's Brian Rike (12), Hickory's Miles Durham (12), West Virginia's Jon Lucroy (10) and Rome's Freddy Freeman (8).

Montero was the only RiverDog named a starter. He leads the team with a .309 batting average and has 47 RBIs with 19 doubles and 42 runs.

Snyder, elected as a utility infielder, is hitting .306 with 19 doubles, 41 runs and 34 RBIs. Almonte was added to the roster as a reserve outfielder with a .268 average, five homers and a team-leading 16 stolen bases. He missed nearly three weeks of the season because of a hamstring injury.

Ortiz is among the league leaders in saves with 20. The closer is 1-2 with a 1.85 earned run average, and he has 39 strikeouts in 34 innings.

Both Pendleton and Stephens began the season in the Charleston bullpen as long relievers. Injuries to the Charleston pitching staff pushed them into the starting rotation in May, and neither wasted the opportunity to prove they belonged there long-term. Pendleton is 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA and has 64 strikeouts in 62 innings. Stephens is 2-3 with a 3.02 ERA and has 52 strikeouts.

Reach Bill Henley at bhenley@postandcourier.com