Pedroia withdraws from All-Star Game

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BOSTON, July 12 (UPI) -- Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia will miss Tuesday's All-Star Game to be with his pregnant and hospitalized wife, the team said Sunday.

The 2007 American League Rookie of the Year had been scheduled to start Tuesday against the National League in St. Louis. However, the Red Sox said in a statement his wife was taken to a Boston area hospital last Monday after going into labor earlier than expected and will remain hospitalized for the foreseeable future.

"After consulting with (Manager) Terry Francona, (General Manager) Theo (Epstein), Phyllis Merhige of Major League Baseball and my wife Kelli, I have decided to withdraw," Pedroia said on Boston's Web site before Sunday's game against Oakland. "This was certainly not an easy decision."

Pedroia is batting .300 with four home runs, 40 RBI and 14 stolen bases.

He will be replaced by Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Carlos Pena, who was entered in Monday's Home Run Derby by Manager Joe Maddon.