Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez will have the honor of starting Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game on his home field, pitching for the National League against American League starter Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Toronto’s club announced Sunday that Cease would carry the AL flag into the game. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who is leading the NL squad, confirmed that Sánchez is his choice to open on the mound.
“I think he deserves it. He’s the hometown ballplayer and I think the city of Philly will enjoy watching him and supporting him,” Roberts said. “I had a conversation with him this morning. … He was very grateful. In a time when guys are not wanting to participate, this guy in the Midsummer Classic for fans, I think this is a good thing. He’s very excited about pitching.”
In other All-Star news Sunday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that New York right-hander Cam Schlittler has decided not to pitch in the game. Schlittler will still attend the event, and no replacement is being added to the AL roster.
Sánchez has put together an impressive season, going 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA. He ranks third across the major leagues with 144 strikeouts, and his remarkable streak of 50 and two-thirds consecutive scoreless innings has been one of the standout stories of the season.
Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who tops the majors in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76), and strikeouts (167), had been removed from the All-Star roster earlier in the week. He had been expected to start for the Brewers on Sunday, but Milwaukee pulled him from that outing due to arm fatigue.
Cease has posted a 6-4 record with a 2.56 ERA for Toronto this season. He came within one out of throwing his second career no-hitter last Wednesday against San Francisco before the bid was broken up in the ninth inning.
With this selection, Cease becomes the first Blue Jays pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay did so in 2009.
Schlittler had been considered a strong candidate to start the All-Star Game, carrying an AL-best 2.05 ERA, but he took the mound for the Yankees on Saturday, making the quick turnaround a concern.
“Just feels like on his recovery day to go back out there throwing 100 mph is something that I think he felt a little apprehensive about,” Boone told reporters ahead of New York’s game at Washington. “Certainly support that decision and obviously I think he understands what’s at stake here in the second half too for us and for him.”
Schlittler could potentially be tabbed to start the Yankees’ first game of the second half against the Dodgers on Friday at Yankee Stadium.
