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Youkilis Edges Swisher for Day Two Lead; Votto Stays Atop NL

NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Kevin Youkilis of the Boston Red Sox caught and passed day one leader Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees in the race for the American League's final roster spot after 48 hours and 22 million votes in the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint, held exclusively on MLB.com and the individual Club sites.

Over in the National League, Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds continued to hold off challenges from Ryan Zimmerman (Washington Nationals), Billy Wagner (Atlanta Braves), Carlos Gonzalez (Colorado Rockies), and Heath Bell (San Diego Padres) and maintained a lead atop the ballot.

While Youkilis grabbed the American League top spot from Swisher overnight and held it leading into the 48-hour mark, Michael Young of the Texas Rangers, Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox and Delmon Young of the Minnesota Twins each were well north of one million votes and still well positioned to make a run at the top spot.

The ninth annual All-Star Game Final Vote ballot commenced exclusively on MLB.com and the individual Club sites at 1 p.m. (EDT) this past Sunday and will continue until balloting concludes at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, July 8.

Originally introduced during this year's online balloting for the elected starters, fans can campaign for their favorite player on the Final Vote ballot through MLB.com's All-Star Campaign Manager program, tallying points by getting their friends, family and co-workers to vote through social networking, and competing to be recognized as an "official" Final Vote Campaign Manager for any player they helped support.

Mobile voting is available exclusively on Sprint, Nextel and Boost capable mobile phones and fans can send the word "Vote" to 1122 to receive the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint ballot. Message and data rates may apply. In Canada, fans can text "Vote" to 88555. Standard text rates apply.

The All-Star Game Final Vote program has seen nearly 200 million votes cast since its inception in 2002, including last year's record-setting total (68.6 million) when fans chose Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers and Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies. Previous winners of the All-Star Game Final Vote are: Evan Longoria (AL, 2008); Corey Hart (NL, 2008); Hideki Okajima (AL, 2007); Chris Young (NL, 2007); A.J. Pierzynski (AL, 2006); Nomar Garciaparra (NL, 2006); Scott Podsednik (AL, 2005); Roy Oswalt (NL, 2005); Hideki Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004); Jason Varitek (AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Johnny Damon (AL, 2002); and Andruw Jones (NL, 2002).

SOURCE MLB.com