Sanchez and Cease Named Starters for 2026 MLB All-Star Game

Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies will start Tuesday night's All-Star Game for the National League against Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays. ESPN reported the selections Sunday. Dave Roberts, manager of the National League team, said he spoke with Sanchez on Sunday morning.

Roberts noted that Sanchez is the hometown player and that the city of Philadelphia will enjoy watching him pitch. Sanchez is 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA this season and ranks third in MLB with 144 strikeouts. He also had a streak of 50 2/3 scoreless innings.

Sanchez rebounded on Saturday with seven strikeouts in seven innings during a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Earlier, on Monday, he allowed nine earned runs in 3⅓ innings in a 15-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Dylan Cease is 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA for the Blue Jays.

He took a no-hitter into the ninth inning on July 8 against the San Francisco Giants before it was broken up. Cease is the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2009. New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler will not pitch in the game.

Schlittler leads the American League with a 2.05 ERA but pitched for the Yankees on Saturday. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Schlittler felt apprehensive about throwing on his recovery day. Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, who leads MLB with a 1.62 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 167 strikeouts, was replaced on the roster earlier in the week due to arm fatigue.