Hendriks added to American League all-star roster

Tim Anderson is not going to be the only White Sox representative in Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium.

Before closing out the first half of the season with an 11-0 win over the Twins at Target Field, Sox closer Liam Hendriks was added to the American League roster.

Dylan Cease should be going to Los Angeles, but the White Sox right-hander wouldn't have been available to pitch after starting Sunday's game at Minnesota.

Hendriks is going to his second straight All-Star Game and third overall.

"I'm excited, obviously," Hendriks told reporters Sunday. "It's such an honor to go to events like this and go again. I'm hoping to go out there and soak everything up."

Last year, the 33-year-old reliever pitched a scoreless ninth inning and earned the save in the AL's 5-2 win over the NL at Coors Field in Denver.

This season, Hendriks is 1-2 with a 2.35 ERA and he ranks fourth in the league with 18 saves despite missing nearly three weeks with a flexor strain in his right forearm.

Hendriks has made 15 straight scoreless appearances while going 9-for-9 in save opportunities over the stretch. The right-hander has also retired the last 21 hitters he's faced.

"I'm in a decent stretch in this part of my career right now," Hendriks said. "I've been able to be relatively consistent with everything going forward the last four years. It's been a wild ride to think of where it all started, where it all came from and the things we've gone through."

A struggling starting pitcher when he broke into the major leagues, Hendriks was waived by the Twins and Cubs in 2013 and released again by the Orioles the following year before making a career changing transition to the bullpen with the Blue Jays in 2015.