Three Charlotte Knights are headed to the Triple-A All-Star Game, set for 7 p.m. on July 16 in Louisville, Ky.
Chosen were Knights slugging first baseman Brad Eldred, infielder Chris Getz and relief pitcher Jason Childers.
Eldred has been sidelined lately with a broken left hand, but is having an outstanding season. He is tied for the International League lead in homers (26), leads the league in RBIs (72) and is batting .265.
Getz, a left-handed middle infielder, is batting .309, fourth-best in the IL. He has six homers, 33 RBIs and has scored 42 runs.
Getz has also been chosen for the Futures Game on July 13 in Yankee Stadium. He and Knights left-handed pitcher Clayton Richard will play for the U.S. team, which faces the World All-Stars.
Childers has appeared in 32 games for the Knights. He has a 3-1 record with a 1.54 ERA.
The Triple-A All-Star Game, which features top players from the IL vs. their counterparts from the Pacific Coast League, will be televised by ESPN2 (cable channel 28 in Rock Hill).
The play-by-play will be handled by Louisville's Jim Kelch, with ESPN's Eduardo Perez the analyst. The field reporter will be MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
• HOT COLE: Knights catcher Cole Armstrong, recently promoted from Double-A Birmingham, is off to a blazing start with the bat.
The left-handed Armstrong broke in with a 5-for-5 performance in the Knights' 9-3 victory at Richmond on June 28. In his first five games for the Knights, Armstrong was batting .476 with 10 hits in 21 plate appearances.
The Surrey, B.C., native was a 16th-round pick of Atlanta in the 2003 draft. He was selected in the 2005 Rule 5 Minor League Draft by the Chicago White Sox.
• BACK TO THE BIGS: Former Charlotte manager Nick Leyva has returned to the major leagues as third base coach for Toronto.
Leyva, who managed the Knights in 2000 and 2001, joined new Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston's staff after Gaston replaced the fired John Gibbons.
Leyva, 54, served as the Blue Jays' third base coach from 1993-97 as part of Gaston's staff. Leyva was Milwaukee's third base coach last season. He was scheduled to manage the New York Mets' Rookie Advanced Appalachian League team in Kingsport, Tenn., this year when Gaston and the Blue Jays came calling.
• EX-GAMECOCK PROMOTED: Former South Carolina standout Steve Pearce has been called up to the major leagues by Pittsburgh.
Pearce was preparing for Indianapolis' game at Louisville when he was told to join the Pirates, replacing injured pitcher Matt Capps.
Pearce's stay with the Pirates is expected to be temporary after batting .259 with 11 homers, 23 doubles and 50 RBIs in 79 games for Indianapolis.
The right-handed first baseman-outfielder was Pittsburgh's fifth round choice in the 2005 draft.
• EX-EAGLES HOMER: Two former Winthrop Eagles hit home runs during the past week to help their respective teams to victories.
Catcher Alan Robbins smacked a leadoff homer in the third inning as Clearwater blanked St. Lucie, 4-0, in a Class A Florida State League game. It was Robbins' first homer of the season for the Threshers, who are managed by ex-Charlotte skipper Razor Shines.
Robbins hit one homer last year with Class-A Lakewood.
Third baseman Matt Repec hammered a three-run fourth-nning home run for Modesto in the Nuts' 5-3 Class A California League win over Stockton.
