BOSTON -- Bad news for the American League: At least five Red Sox players will be on the All-Star roster, meaning one of the AL's biggest contingents will come from a team that hasn't had much luck against the senior circuit for more than eight decades.

Outfielder Manny Ramirez and third baseman Shea Hillenbrand won the fan balloting to start the July 9 game in Milwaukee, Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez were picked for the pitching staff and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was chosen as a backup. Outfielder Johnny Damon could be added later through a new voting wrinkle.

"There's a lot of guys that deserve to go,'' said Garciaparra, an All-Star for the fourth time in six years. "I should be taking all nine (teammates) with me.''

The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks, who faced each other in the World Series last year, each have six representatives, and besides the Red Sox no other team has more than three. The managers of the league champions pick the reserves and pitchers.

The Red Sox haven't had more than four All-Stars since 1979, when Jim Rice, Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Bob Stanley and Rick Burleson made the team. Boston hasn't had two starters elected to the team since the fans voted in Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn in 1980.

All this from a team that's 5-13 against the NL and 45-58 in the history of interleague play. And that's not to mention the team's well-documented history in the World Series, which it hasn't won since 1918.

"You're catching us at kind of a down moment, because we've been losing,'' Lowe said after the Red Sox were swept by the Atlanta Braves to conclude this year's interleague schedule. "It's a great individual honor. But I think guys would like it more if we weren't struggling as much as we are.''

Lowe was also picked for the All-Star team in 2000 as a reliever. He was converted back to a starter at the end of last season and, on April 27 of this year, threw the first no-hitter at Fenway Park since 1965.

He is 11-4 and leads the league with a 2.18 ERA and a .193 batting average allowed, making him a candidate to start the game.

"To get that accomplishment would be a great honor,'' he said.

Hillenbrand came out of nowhere in spring training last year when he made the jump from Double-A to the majors and inherited an infield spot because of injuries to Garciaparra and John Valentin. He took advantage of it with a solid rookie year that he's improved upon as a sophomore, batting .308 with a team-leading 13 homers.

"I couldn't even imagine being in the position I'm in,'' he said. "It's very gratifying.''

Martinez and Ramirez are both considered among the AL's best despite being hampered by injuries.

Ramirez will make his fifth All-Star Game appearance and his second in a row since joining the Red Sox. He was leading the AL with a .372 batting average before he broke his finger sliding headfirst into home plate and missed 39 games.

"I missed a lot of games,'' he said. "I just got lucky that I'm really going.''

Martinez was selected to his fifth All-Star Game and his third since coming to Boston. In 1999, when the game was at Fenway Park, he was the MVP after starting and striking out five of the six batters he faced.

After missing much of last season with a sore rotator cuff, Martinez started this year 7-0 and is 9-2 with a 3.07 ERA heading into Monday's start.

Two other Red Sox players made a case for the team, but didn't quite make it.

Damon is batting .307 with 94 hits, 17 stolen bases and a defense that solidified Boston's outfield while it held the best record in baseball for much of the first three months. But he is among five players who will have another chance in special internet balloting that will be used to determine the final roster spot.

"I think he deserves it more than I do,'' Hillenbrand said. "He plays the game so well, he makes things look relatively easy. It's a shock around our clubhouse he didn't get elected or selected. But he's not going to let that worry him.''

Also, closer Ugueth Urbina, who is second in the AL with 21 saves, was not selected.