PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber will bat first for the National League when the MLB All-Star Game kicks off Tuesday night, stepping into the leadoff spot vacated by Shohei Ohtani. The two-way star is sitting out the midsummer showcase to undergo a knee procedure before the season resumes.
On the American League side, several lineup adjustments were also necessary due to injuries. Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene and New York Yankees players Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger all earned starting spots as replacements.
Rice, a first baseman who ranks third in the major leagues with 29 home runs — trailing only Schwarber’s 32 and the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez’s 31 — gets the starting nod after Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. chose to sit out the game to rest a sore back. The original replacement for Guerrero, the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz, then sprained a thumb, paving the way for Rice.
Bellinger stepped in for Yankees teammate Aaron Judge, who has been out of action since May 31 with a fractured rib. Greene replaced Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton, who is dealing with a hip injury. Bellinger will play right field while Greene takes left field.
Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchez and Toronto right-hander Dylan Cease were named as the starting pitchers for their respective leagues on Sunday.
Despite Ohtani’s absence, NL manager Dave Roberts of the two-time champion Dodgers still has three of his own players in the starting lineup, joined by two Phillies and two Braves.
The NL batting order behind Schwarber features New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto hitting second, followed by Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, Washington shortstop CJ Abrams, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, Atlanta second baseman Ozzie Albies, Phillies right fielder Brandon Marsh, Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages, and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin.
AL skipper John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays has Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout leading off, with Alvarez batting second as the designated hitter. The rest of the lineup includes Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Bellinger, Rice, Greene, and Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement.
Sánchez will become the 14th pitcher in history to start an All-Star Game at his home ballpark, the first to do so since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw accomplished the feat in 2022. He will also be the first Phillies pitcher to start an All-Star Game since the late Roy Halladay did so in 2011.
As for Cease, his start will make him the first Blue Jays pitcher to open an All-Star Game since Halladay took the ball for Toronto back in 2009.
