Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies has been tabbed to start for the National League, while Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays will start for the American League in the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
Sanchez, a 29-year-old left-hander making his second All-Star Game appearance, boasts an 11-4 record and 2.62 ERA in 20 starts.
Only Milwaukee Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby (12) boasts more wins than Sanchez in MLB. Sanchez owned the second-best ERA (2.00) in the bigs when the All-Star teams were announced on July 4, but he gave up nine runs over 3 1/3 innings two days later.
From April 30 to June 3, Sanchez reeled off 50 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. That broke the major league record for longest streak by a left-hander — and ranked fifth all-time.
Although Citizens Bank Park is considered hitter-friendly, Sanchez’s extreme splits explain his dominance at home.
In nine starts on the road this season, Sanchez owns a 4-3 record and 4.97 ERA with 10 home runs allowed in 54 1/3 innings. But in his 11 starts at home, Sanchez has delivered a 7-1 record and 0.86 ERA with two homers allowed over 73 innings.
Cease, a 30-year-old right-hander making his All-Star Game debut, owns a 6-4 record with a 2.56 ERA in 17 starts. He paces the American League with 148 strikeouts and his 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings match Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski for the major league lead.
In Cease’s last outing on Wednesday in San Francisco, he carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He allowed a leadoff single to Heliot Ramos on his 118th and final pitch of the day.
