Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies is set to make his All-Star Game debut on Tuesday night, taking the mound at his home ballpark for the National League. He will face off against Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays, who has been named the American League’s starter.
The announcement of Cease as the AL starter came from the Blue Jays on Sunday, while Dave Roberts, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, confirmed Sánchez’s starting role for the NL.
“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 stated. He emphasized Sánchez’s enthusiasm for participating in the Midsummer Classic, especially at a time when many players opt out. “He’s very excited about pitching,” Roberts added.
In contrast, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that New York’s right-hander Cam Schlittler will not pitch in the All-Star Game but will still attend. There are currently no plans to replace him on the AL roster.
Sánchez has had a stellar season thus far, boasting an impressive record of 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA, placing him third in the majors with 144 strikeouts. Notably, he achieved a remarkable streak of 50 2/3 scoreless innings, marking a significant highlight of this MLB season.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who leads the majors in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76), and strikeouts (167), was recently replaced on the All-Star team due to arm fatigue, which prevented him from starting for the Brewers.
Cease, who has a record of 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA for the Blue Jays, is also having a noteworthy season. He nearly achieved his second career no-hitter during a game against San Francisco, only for it to be broken up in the ninth inning. His selection as an All-Star starter marks the first time a Toronto pitcher has held this honor since Roy Halladay in 2009.
Cease learned of his All-Star selection from Blue Jays manager John Schneider during a team meeting prior to their Sunday series finale at San Diego. Reflecting on the moment, Cease said, “It’s pretty surreal. I didn’t know what to say. Everyone’s saying, ‘Give a speech,’ and I’m like, I was pretty speechless, so it was just a really cool experience.”
He added, “It’s really cool how all of these things have lined up, you know, even being able to pitch in it and having a good enough first half to be in the running for it and all that. And the fact that pretty much our entire staff is going, it’s really a great recipe.”
Schlittler, who boasts an AL-leading ERA of 2.05, was also a candidate to start but opted out after pitching for the Yankees on Saturday. Boone supported Schlittler’s decision, acknowledging the importance of managing his recovery. “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 explained.
As the All-Star Game approaches, expectations are high for both Sánchez and Cease, as they represent their teams and cities on one of baseball’s biggest stages.
___
AP freelance writers Bernie Wilson in San Diego and Doug Padilla in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
