Huntsville, Ala., played host to this year's Southern League all-star game, in which the Northern Division squad defeated their Southern counterparts by a 3-2 score. Jacksonville third baseman Matt Dominguez, the Marlins' first-round pick in 2007, secured game MVP honors by going 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs. He accounted for both of the Southern Division's runs in the losing effort.

West Tenn shortstop Carlos Triunfel, the Mariners' prospect playing for the Northern Division, went 1-for-3 with a double. But overall, pitchers ruled this Double-A all-star game.

The Northern Division set the tone, completing four scoreless innings to begin the contest. Mobile righty Josh Collmenter (Diamondbacks) started and allowed two hits and one walk in two innings, striking out one and receiving credit for the win. Huntsville righthander Michael Bowman (Brewers) and West Tenn lefty Mauricio Robles (Mariners) followed with single no-hit innings.

Jacksonville righty Tom Koehler (Marlins) started for the Southern Division and, while he struck out two, he also allowed two runs on three hits and a walk. Mississippi righthander Brandon Beachy (Braves) followed with a perfect third inning in which he struck out two of the three batters he faced. White Sox righthander Anthony Carter, pitching for Birmingham, struck out four batters in completing the seventh and eighth innings. He permitted two hits but no runs in closing out the South's losing effort.

In perhaps the game's most interesting storyline, four participants in Sunday's Futures Game had flown from Anaheim Sunday night to be in Huntsville on Monday to take part in the SL all-star game. The quartet included the Stars' own second baseman Brett Lawrie (Brewers), who went 0-for-1 with a strikeout for the North.

The jet-lagged West Tenn (Mariners) pair of Alex Liddi and Carlos Peguero each went 0-for-1, also for the Northern Division. Jacksonville shortstop Ozzie Martinez (Marlins), starting and batting second for the South, managed to go 1-for-2 with a first-inning double off Collmenter.

AROUND THE MINORS

• The torrid month of July continued for Mets Double-A center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who went 2-for-5 yesterday and connected for his 29th double of the season. The 22-year-old has batted .455/.484/1.375 (25-for-55) this month for Binghamton, contributing four homers and 12 doubles.

• Versatile infielder Kyle Seager, a Mariners' third-round pick last year from North Carolina, is that rare batter who performs better away from High Desert. On the road yesterday, he went 2-for-5 with a double (24) and a home run (five), and his batting line on the road in the high Class A California League now stands at .350/.418/.475 through 177 at-bats. Seager's road OPS (.892) exceeds his home figure by nearly 90 points.

Seattle has positioned the 22-year-old prospect mostly at second base this season, but he's also seen time at third and shortstop, a position he's appeared at in 14 straight games.

• Monday's top strikeout artists: Giants' 2008 sixth-round lefty Eric Surkamp fanned 10 batters over seven innings for high Class A San Jose; Braves righthander J.J. Hoover, a 10th-rounder in ’08, recorded nine punchouts in six innings for high Class A Myrtle Beach; and Royals lefty Chris Dwyer fanned eight in six innings for Northwest Arkansas. The ’09 fourth-rounder was making his second Double-A start.