American League starter announcement
Dylan Cease, the ace for the Toronto Blue Jays, has been named the starting pitcher for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia. This marks his first selection to an All-Star Game. Cease joins a select group of Toronto pitchers, including Dave Stieb (1983 and 1984) and Roy Halladay (2009), to start the Midsummer Classic.
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. Despite Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees being considered a strong contender, Schneider stated that Cease would have been his choice regardless.
Schlittler withdrew from the game on Sunday due to having pitched 6 2/3 innings against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, expressing concerns about pitching between his regular starts. Schneider communicated his decision to New York manager Aaron Boone on Sunday morning before making the official announcement to Cease and his teammates. The news was revealed using a whiteboard featuring some of Cease’s preferred items, such as a baseball field, cats, and oysters.
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 outing, which resulted in a 10-0 victory for his team. Before the unofficial first half of the season concluded, Cease held a 6-4 record with 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, and opposing batters have a .189 average against him.
The 30-year-old right-hander has consistently struck out 200 or more batters in each of the previous five seasons and is on pace to achieve this again. He has secured four victories in his last five starts, during which he has given up only six runs. In December, the Blue Jays signed Cease to a seven-year, US$210-million contract, which stands as the largest ever awarded to a free agent in the franchise’s history.
National League starter and other selections
For the National League, Cristopher Sanchez of Philadelphia will be the starting pitcher. This marks a significant recognition for the 28-year-old, who has emerged as a prominent starter in the National League. Sanchez has an 11-4 record with a 2.62 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 127.1 innings pitched. He is the first Phillies pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2011.
Other players from Toronto were also recognized. Ernie Clement will start at second base for the American League, and reliever Louis Varland was named to its pitching staff. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was voted in as the starting first baseman but declined the opportunity due to a sore back. Kazuma Okamoto, the Blue Jays’ third baseman, entered Sunday with 22 home runs and 62 runs batted in, and has been considered the club’s most valuable player to date. Okamoto has tied Shohei Ohtani for the most home runs by a Japanese-born rookie in major league history and is only two home runs shy of the club record for a rookie, set by Eric Hinske in 2002. He finished second among third basemen in the AL in fan voting.
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Source: theglobeandmail.com
