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2026 MLB All-Star Game

A National Disgrace

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PHILADELPHIA – (Wire Service Report) – It took outfielder Cody Bellinger seven years to get back to the MLB Midsummer Classic. Now he’s part of a select club in the event’s history.

Bellinger and New York Yankees teammate Ben Rice hit consecutive RBI singles during a three-run first inning, and the American League pitched a three-hitter in a 4-0 victory over the National League in the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night.

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With Bellinger driving in two, he was ultimately named the game’s MVP, joining fellow Yankees Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022) who have earned the honor. The game’s MVP award was introduced in 1962.

“It’s special, man,” said Bellinger, who appeared twice previously in the event with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 and 2019. “I mean, you know, wearing this jersey, I feel proud wearing it. It comes with a lot. And I just try to put my best foot forward every day and give it everything I got.”

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning solo shot in his All-Star debut as the AL avenged a 7-6 loss to the NL by swing-off tiebreaker in 2025. There haven’t been consecutive wins by the same side in the exhibition since the AL won nine in a row from 2013 to 2022.

Toronto Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease struck out the side in the bottom of the first in his All-Star debut. The Kansas City Royals’ Michael Wacha, Minnesota Twins’ Joe Ryan and Cleveland Guardians’ Cade Smith fanned two batters each in respective shutout innings of relief.

“It’s the game now,” said Blue Jays and AL manager John Schneider. “Guys’ stuff is unbelievable. To see Luis Arraez strike out and Yandy Diaz strike out a couple times. It’s just kind of like, you never see it. So it speaks volumes to how good these guys are.”

Tampa Bay Rays slugger Junior Caminero exited in the third after taking a 1-0 offering from the St. Louis Cardinals’ Riley O’Brien to the left hand. He underwent X-rays, which were negative, and Caminero said he expects to be available on Friday when the regular season resumes.

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“In the moment I was just scared, right?” Caminero said through an interpreter. “Kind of in that situation right then and there you’re thinking the worst, and I honestly thought something might have been broken, but look, you know, thank you to God that everything’s fine and you know, now it’s just a little bit sore, but we’re all good.”

It was a rough night for the hometown Philadelphia Phillies, beginning when starter Cristopher Sanchez worked into first-inning trouble.

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After a leadoff strikeout, the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez singled, and the Athletics’ Shea Langeliers walked. Sanchez made a nice play on a chopper in front of the mound to retire the next batter, but then walked the bases loaded before Bellinger and Rice both hit hard grounders up the middle to make it 3-0.

Phillies hitters Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh and Bryce Harper combined to finish 0-for-5 on the evening with four strikeouts. Harper also lost an ABS challenge during his at-bat.

Then again, there were only five total NL baserunners. The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman and Cincinnati Reds’ Sal Stewart both worked walks. The New York Mets’ Juan Soto singled in his second at-bat, the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong singled in the eighth and the Miami Marlins’ Otto Lopez singled with two outs in the ninth.

National League batters totaled 15 strikeouts, the AL had 12 to go along with seven hits.

Philadelphia closer Jhoan Duran received his ceremonial, strobe light-aided entrance with one out in the final frame and retired the final few batters in the top of the ninth. But even his showing lacked some ballpark energy, with many of the announced crowd of 43,916 already having departed.

It was an underwhelming end for an event resoundingly embraced by its host.

Philadelphian recording artists Patti LaBelle and Boyz II Men as well as Jennifer Hudson were among the pregame and in-game entertainment. There were also appearances by former Phillies All-Stars Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

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Schneider, who grew up in nearby Princeton, N.J., even greeted Boyz II Men in the visiting dugout.

“Everything was really cool, but awesome to shake their hand and say, hey, huge fan. You know what I mean?” he said. “A-46-year-old dude saying, hey, huge fan. But everything about tonight was pretty special.”

Early on, fans roared in approval of their hometown stars, and booed a few select participants, notably Yankees and Mets players, and Home Run Derby winner Jordan Walker of St. Louis, who defeated Schwarber in the event Monday night.

–Field Level Media

When the Baseball World Stops

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PHILADELPHIA – Each summer, Major League Baseball takes a little break for the annual All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. This season, the Midsummer Classic, as they love to call it, is here in the City of Brotherly Love. The Philadelphia Phillies are the host and their fans – those with a terrible reputation as being just a tad too passionate – are out in force.

Yes, the same people who threw snowballs at Santa Claus (Eagles) and outwardly boo’d Saint Nick are dressed in Phillies red this week and they’re rooting hard for their hometown heroes. The Philly fanatics are especially pleased with starting pitcher Christopher Sanchez and sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, although ace Zack “I’m not going to be disrespected” Wheeler declined his late invite to the game when Cincinnati Reds starter Chase Burns came up lame.

The Philly fans were vocal on Monday night when the MLB Home Run Derby (rumored to be on Netflix) took over the stadium and 43,863 spectators jammed their way into gorgeous Citizens Bank Ballpark 41 years to the day when Sir Bob Geldorf staged the greatest rock concert of all-time right down the block at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

That concert – coupled with a simultaneously stage show at Wembley in London – raised money in relief of the famine in Ethiopia.

What stands as proof from that incredible 1985 rock show and tonight’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game is that sports and music are two international languages, each with the power to change the world for the better.

Case in point for tonight’s game; At the end of the 5th inning, all those mean and nasty Philly fans will stand. They’ll take a ‘sharpie’ or whatever marker is handy and scribble the name of someone they love, loved or maybe someone losing a battle against cancer and they’ll participate in utter silence when the FOX Sports television cameras come back from a very brief break.

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On a brighter note, some will salute survivors while others might thank doctors and nurses, surgeons and oncologists who cured their special someone of the dreaded diseases that all form one, terribly tagged as Cancer.

MLB’s “Stand Up to Cancer” is, by far, the most amazing community event any sports or entertainment entity undertakes. While the JIMMY Fund in Boston is doing its thing every summer by raising some $1 billion at a $75 million clip each year with the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) with every cent going to cancer research at Dana Farber and some of the other great research institutions of the USA (thank-you Johns Hopkins), MLB will take a broader approach and simply ask everyone in attendance to “Stand Up” in the fight against cancer.

It is an incredibly powerful moment in time for, as once, everything in the world of baseball – STOPS.

How often does that happen? (No labor jokes are allowed).

Philly faves Boyz to Men will sing Michael Jackson’s “I’ll be there,” as the players, umpires and, most importaly 43,000+ fans stand in a silent tribute.

The moment is so powerful on site at the game that it actually travels through time and space and into the living rooms, TV rooms, bars and saloons to every single fan watching the game come the break between the home (National League) 5th and the visitor’s (American League) top of the 6th inning.

Names are displayed. Everyone has a direct connection.

Everyone.

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Memories are etched into a small 8 1/2 x 11 placard and tears begin to flow.

Put simply, it’s impossible not to cry, to weep, to bawl unrestrainedly as you recall a loved one lost to cancer.

Personally, I’ll be thanking my lucky stars and the very research money being collected to have had a Johns Hopkins and Harvard trained surgeon work his magic to use an incredible robotic device and his masterful, steady hands to literally “zip out” what he later told me was “quite a bit of it” from my innards.

My thanks to Dr. Douglas M. Dahl of Mass General.

And to his colleague Dr. Anthony Zeitman of Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute Radiation Oncology and his capable team who brought in the cavalry to be sure the cancer was gone for good. Side note: The cocky MD said, “Listen, you’re going to die … pause … but you’re not dying from this!”

Dr. Zeitman learned his craft at the Imperial College London School of Medicine and is always recognized amongst America’s top doctors. I’ll second the motion and will be thinking of him tonight as I do of him, and Dr. Dahl, almost every day of my life.

I’ll be thinking of Heather Walker of the Boston Celtics who was diagnosed with the rare brain cancer, glioblastoma, in January 2021 and passed away on April 26, 2023 after undergoing several clinical trials but also raising more than $644,000 in her #Move4Heather campaign to raise money for very specific cancer glioblastoma research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston where she had been treated.

Heather was a force of nature and she performed her job with the utmost professionalism, as the Celtics noted in a news release when she passed and later when they dedicated the pressroom at TD Garden to her, “Displaying exceptional courage, she made a point of raising awareness for glioblastoma through the Move4Heather movement, wanting to use her situation to help the lives of others, which was entirely consistent with her character,” the Celtics said. “Through her illness, she was resolute and extraordinary in boosting the spirits of those around her, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and essential awareness in hopes of easing the suffering and saving the lives of others.”

Sadly, I’ve had a few other NBA PR colleagues pass away from various forms of cancer and we remember them all, naming press rooms and celebrating their memories each basketball season. One, “A.T,” has been fighting for what he calls a long journey, fighting the disease in hospitals and cancer centers from Atlanta to Houston.

But tonight, after the 5th inning, I’ll also be thinking of my high school friend, “J.J.”

He played third base for the Holy Trinity Titans, so an “H.T. (or Titans) for J.J. will be on my placard at Citizens Bank Park and I’ll be thinking of his decade-plus more fight against several different forms of cancer. With some, just as we thought he had it licked, another form of the disease would surface.

Most recently, J.J. has been making monthly trips from New York to Los Angeles, California to see Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong – the man who saved his life two times over.  In fact, they have a little saying, “I’m one day closer to being cured and I hope that those you love are one day closer, too.”

Tonight, you can participate in any way you choose. Visit StandUpToCancer.org and make a donation of any dollar figure you can afford.

Don’t be afraid or ashamed to shed a tear, but do so knowing “we’re one day closer to a cure.”

Phillies’ Sanchez Will Start All-Stars Up

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PHILADELPHIA – (Wire Service Report) – In a time when it’s becoming increasingly common for players to opt out of the All-Star Game, the starting pitchers in Tuesday night’s Summer Classic still see the occasion as career-defining.

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez will be the first hurler to the hill when the National League takes the field, followed by Toronto Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease in the bottom half of the inning for the American League.

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The 29-year-old Sanchez, appearing in his second All-Star Game and finishing as the 2025 NL Cy Young runner-up in between, even said this moment on Broad Street might be his best.

“So far, yes, I think that this could be described as the best moment in my career,” said Sanchez through an interpreter in Monday’s press conference. “And I want to give full credit to God for me being able to be here, thanks to him. And it’s just a result of a lot of discipline and a lot of hard work that we put throughout the season.”

At least a handful of All-Star honorees declined invites despite not currently being on the injured list, mostly citing fatigue or minor health issues.

But Sanchez has been a paragon of durability for some time and is on pace to exceed 30 starts for a third consecutive season, having already taken the ball 20 times in 2026 (tying for most in the majors) while pitching to a 2.62 ERA.

That consistency becomes even more impressive considering three consecutive postseasons with extra work. He was the victim of hard luck last year, settling for a pair of no-decisions in eventual Philadelphia losses to Los Angeles in the NLDS, despite allowing only three runs in 12 innings of work.

Tuesday might mean even more, he suggested, saying he would perform on behalf of his father, who could not attend and remains in his native Dominican Republic.

“I just dedicate this performance to him, dedicate this whole event to him,” Sanchez said. “And I love you a lot. And all that I’ve been able to do throughout my life, both on and off the field, it’s because of you.”

Cease is improbably making his first All-Star appearance despite being a regular in Cy Young conversations for several years.

It was an honor the right-hander and much of baseball thought he deserved in 2022, when he pitched to a 2.20 ERA and a runner-up AL Cy Young finish. He was 7-4 with a 2.45 ERA when pitching staffs were announced on July 10 of that year.

“I was definitely upset in 2022,” said Cease, who has a 2.56 ERA and AL-best 148 strikeouts so far in his first season in Toronto. “Four years later, I don’t know if it was still fueling me, but I feel like getting to start my first one maybe made up for it. Yeah, that was disappointing, but this is such a cool experience.”

In his fourth time taking charge of the NL, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts regularly manages the biggest star who opted out.

Two-way talent Shohei Ohtani skipped his last pitching start on Friday night to rest an ailing left knee, at that point deciding not to attend the All-Star Game. He still served as designated hitter through the weekend for Los Angeles.

Roberts said he understands players’ decisions but always pushes them to show up if they can.

“It’s a huge honor to be named an All-Star, to be able to participate in this game,” Roberts said. “I didn’t have that. I wasn’t a good enough player to be an All-Star.

“The way the world is, the game is now where there’s rest, recovery, injuries, which are certainly validated. I still try to encourage players to participate because it is for the fans. It’s a fans’ game. And to be able to showcase your talents in front of everyone — it’s a special moment.”

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout is slated to lead off for the AL in his first appearance in the contest since 2019 due to injuries. Trout grew up roughly 45 miles away in Millville, N.J.

National League starting lineup:
1. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies, DH
2. Juan Soto, Mets, LF
3. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, 1B
4. CJ Abrams, Nationals, SS
5. Max Muncy, Dodgers, 3B
6. Ozzie Albies, Braves, 2B
7. Brandon Marsh, Phillies, RF
8. Andy Pages, Dodgers, CF
9. Drake Baldwin, Braves, C

American League starting lineup:
1. Mike Trout, Angels, CF
2. Yordan Alvarez, Astros, DH
3. Shea Langeliers, Athletics, C
4. Junior Caminero, Rays, 3B
5. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals, SS
6. Cody Bellinger, Yankees, RF
7. Ben Rice, Yankees, 1B
8. Riley Greene, Tigers, LF
9. Ernie Clement, Blue Jays, 2B

– Field Level Media

Is Schwarber the One?

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PHILADELPHIA – (Wire Service Report) – Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber is a popular favorite ahead of Monday night’s Home Run Derby in his home ballpark.

Schwarber opened as the +350 favorite at BetMGM, with his odds shortening further to +310 while being backed by 24.8% of the total bets and 29.1% of all money wagered on the Derby winner. Schwarber leads the eight Derby participants with 32 home runs entering the All-Star break.

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That’s three more than the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice and four more than the Tampa Bay Rays’ Junior Caminero.

HOME RUN DERBY ODDS*
Kyle Schwarber (Phillies), +310
Junior Caminero (Rays), +425
Munetaka Murakami (White Sox), +475
Jac Caglianone (Royals), +650
Jordan Walker (Cardinals), +750
Bryce Harper (Phillies), +850
Ben Rice (Yankees), +850
Willson Contreras (Red Sox), +1500
*BetMGM

Schwarber is the book’s biggest liability, followed by Harper and Caminero, who is second with 16.6% of all bets and 17.2% of all money backing him to win. Harper is third with 16.1% and 14.4%, respectively.

Rice has seen the biggest odds shift, moving from +1100 to +850 since the market opened. Walker, who opened at +600, and Contreras, who opened at +1100, are the only two participants whose odds have lengthened.

The Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park begins at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix.

BATTING ORDER
1. Contreras (20 Home Runs)
2. Walker (22)
3. Caglianone (15)
4. Schwarber (32)
5. Rice (29)
6. Caminero (28)
7. Murakami (20)
8. Harper (20)

–Field Level Media