Elite arms Cease, Sánchez named All-Star Game starting pitchers - MLB.com
American League starter announcement
Dylan Cease, an ace for the Toronto Blue Jays, has been selected as the starting pitcher for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia. This marks Cease’s first appearance in an All-Star Game. He joins a select group of Toronto pitchers to start the Midsummer Classic, including Dave Stieb (1983 and 1984) and Roy Halladay (2009).
The decision was made by American League manager John Schneider, who also manages the Blue Jays. Schneider informed Major League Baseball of his choice on Saturday night. While Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees was considered a strong candidate, Schneider stated his preference for Cease regardless. Schlittler withdrew from the game due to pitching 6 2/3 innings on Saturday, expressing concern about pitching between his regular starts.
Schneider conveyed the news to Cease and his teammates before Sunday’s game against the Padres in San Diego. He used a whiteboard featuring some of Cease’s preferred items, such as a baseball field, cats, and oysters, for the announcement. Schneider also contacted New York manager Aaron Boone to inform him of the decision and discuss managing his first All-Star Game.
Cease’s selection follows a recent performance where he carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Giants in San Francisco, ultimately being pulled after yielding a lead-off single. He threw a career-high 118 pitches in that 10-0 victory. Cease concluded the unofficial first half of the season with a 6-4 record, a 2.56 earned-run average, and 148 strikeouts over 98 1/3 innings. He has recorded 10 or more strikeouts in seven of his 17 starts, with opposing hitters batting .189 against him. The 30-year-old right-hander has won four of his last five starts, allowing only six runs during that period. The Blue Jays signed Cease to a seven-year, US$210-million contract in December, which was the largest ever awarded to a free agent in the franchise’s history.
National League starter and other selections
For the National League, Cristopher Sánchez of Philadelphia will take the mound as the starting pitcher. This marks a significant recognition for the 28-year-old, who has posted an 11-4 record with a 2.62 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 127.1 innings pitched. Sánchez is the first pitcher from the Phillies to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2011.
Other Blue Jays players were also recognized. Ernie Clement is set to start at second base for the American League, and reliever Louis Varland was added to the pitching staff. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was voted in as the starting first baseman but declined due to a sore back. Kazuma Okamoto, a third baseman for Toronto, entered Sunday with 22 home runs and 62 runs batted in, tying Shohei Ohtani for the most home runs by a Japanese-born rookie in major league history. He is also two home runs shy of the club’s rookie record, set by Eric Hinske in 2002. Okamoto finished second among third basemen in AL fan voting and was not selected for the home run derby.
The Blue Jays entered Sunday with four wins in their last seven outings, moving within five games of a .500 record. Despite being last in the American League East, they were only 2 1/2 games out of a wildcard playoff position.
Source: theglobeandmail.com
