Grandal homers twice to power All-Star push

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal was an All-Star in 2015 and he's putting up numbers like someone bent on returning.
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Grandal, in his free-agent year, slugged a pair of home runs off former teammate Brandon McCarthy four innings into Friday night's 7-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. He had 14 home runs at the All-Star break in 2015.
Grandal took McCarthy deep to center field leading off the second inning, a projected 429-foot shot, according to Statcast™, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. With two out in the fourth inning, Grandal launched another shot to center field, this time projected by Statcast™ at 423 feet. The first had an exit velocity of 103.8 mph, the second at 103 mph.
Grandal has 100 career home runs.
"We obviously know B-Mac pretty well, he knows us well, but no one knows him better than his catcher," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, indicating that Grandal's familiarity with McCarthy's pitches enhanced his chances. "Yas been reeling a little bit, so it was good for him to get back into the big part of the field."
The switch-hitting Grandal has 11 home runs in 54 games, all of which have come from the left side of the plate. This is the ninth multihomer game for Grandal, whose last six have come at Dodger Stadium.
Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot until Thursday, July 5, at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps. Each fan can vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35 ballots cast.
Following the announcement of this year's All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Final Vote for the final player on each league's roster. Then on Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2018 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
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