Philadelphia: Cease and Sánchez named All-Star Game starting pitchers

By Noah Lavoie — 13 July 2026 — 3 min read

Dylan Cease, the Toronto Blue Jays ace, has been announced as the American League‘s starting pitcher for Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia. This marks his first selection to an All-Star Game. Cease will be joined by Cristopher Sánchez of Philadelphia, who will start for the National League.

Cease’s selection follows a strong performance in the unofficial first half of the season, where he recorded a 6-4 record with a 2.56 earned-run average. He accumulated 148 strikeouts over 98 1/3 innings pitched. Opposing hitters have maintained a .189 average against him, and he has struck out 10 or more batters in seven of his 17 starts. The right-hander has won four of his last five starts, surrendering only six runs during that period. He previously took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in a game against the Giants in San Francisco, where he was pulled after giving up a lead-off single, having thrown a career-high 118 pitches in a 10-0 victory.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who is managing the American League team due to his club winning the pennant in 2025, made the decision to name Cease the starter. Schneider informed Major League Baseball of his choice on Saturday night. He conveyed the news to Cease and his teammates before Sunday’s game against the Padres in San Diego, using a whiteboard decorated with some of Cease’s preferred items, such as a baseball field, cats, and oysters.

Schneider’s decision came despite Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees being considered a strong candidate to start. Schlittler withdrew from the game on Sunday, having pitched 6 2/3 innings against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, and expressed concerns about pitching between his regular starts. Schneider stated that Cease would have been his choice regardless of Schlittler’s availability. Schneider also contacted New York manager Aaron Boone to inform him of his decision and to discuss managing in his first All-Star Game.

Cease’s recent contract with the Blue Jays, signed in December, is a seven-year deal worth US$210-million, marking the largest contract awarded to a free agent in the franchise’s history. The 30-year-old has consistently struck out 200 or more batters in each of the previous five seasons and is on track to achieve this milestone again.

National League Starter and Other Selections

For the National League, Cristopher Sánchez has been named the starting pitcher. This selection highlights a notable season for the 28-year-old, who has emerged as a prominent starter in the league. Sánchez holds an 11-4 record with a 2.62 ERA and has recorded 144 strikeouts across 127.1 innings pitched. He is the first pitcher from Philadelphia to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2011.

Cease joins a select group of Toronto pitchers to start the Midsummer Classic, including Dave Stieb (1983 and 1984) and Roy Halladay (2009).

Other Blue Jays players were also recognized. Ernie Clement will start at second base for the American League, and reliever Louis Varland was added to its pitching staff. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was voted in as the starting first baseman, declined the opportunity due to a back issue. Kazuma Okamoto, the Blue Jays‘ third baseman, was also considered for a spot. Okamoto entered Sunday with 22 home runs and 62 runs batted in, making him the club’s most valuable player to that point. He has tied Shohei Ohtani for the most home runs by a Japanese-born rookie in major league history and is two home runs shy of the club record for a rookie, set by Eric Hinske in 2002. Okamoto finished second among third basemen in the AL in fan voting and was not selected for the home run derby.

The Blue Jays entered Sunday with four wins in their last seven outings, bringing them within five games of a .500 record. While they were last in the American League East, they were only 2 1/2 games out of a wildcard playoff position.

Source: theglobeandmail.com