Cy Young contenders Cease and Sánchez start 2026 All-Star Game
Dylan Cease and Cristopher Sánchez will start the 2026 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, matching two Cy Young Award contenders in the Midsummer Classic. Cease opens for the American League as the first Blue Jays starter since Roy Halladay in 2009; Sánchez takes the ball for the National League in his home ballpark.
The announcement caps a first half defined by strikeouts, low ERAs, and a shared thread of history. Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed Cease on Sunday, while Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts named Sánchez for the NL. For fans tracking the Nostalgia: Then & Now beat, the Roy Halladay echoes make this matchup feel like a time capsule with a live scoreboard.
Key Takeaways
- Dylan Cease starts for the AL and Cristopher Sánchez for the NL in the 2026 All-Star Game at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park (8 p.m. ET).
- Both pitchers rank among baseball's top Cy Young contenders, with Cease at 2.56 ERA and an AL-best 148 strikeouts and Sánchez at 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA and 144 strikeouts.
- Cease is Toronto's first All-Star Game starter since Roy Halladay in 2009; Sánchez is Philadelphia's first since Halladay in 2011.
- Sánchez becomes the 14th pitcher to start the Midsummer Classic in his home ballpark, the first since Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium in 2022.
- Cease nearly threw his second career no-hitter in his final pre-break start, while Sánchez authored a 50 2/3-inning scoreless streak earlier this season.
Why were Dylan Cease and Cristopher Sánchez chosen to start?
Schneider and Roberts picked two of the most dominant arms in the first half. Entering Sunday, Sánchez ranked second and Cease third in FanGraphs pitching WAR among all major leaguers, according to MLB.com. In strikeouts, Cease sat second in the majors with 148 and Sánchez third with 144. Both also landed in the top 10 in ERA.
Sánchez, a 29-year-old left-hander and second-time All-Star, is 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA across an MLB-high 20 starts. He has allowed 37 earned runs on 126 hits with 25 walks and 144 strikeouts in 127.1 innings. At Monday's All-Star Media Day, he called the home start the best moment of his career so far.
Cease, 30, is making his first All-Star appearance in an eight-year career that already includes two top-four Cy Young finishes — with the White Sox in 2022 and the Padres in 2024. In his first season after signing a seven-year deal with Toronto, he is 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA, 44 walks, and an AL-best 148 strikeouts in 98.1 innings over 17 starts.
Schneider left little doubt about his reasoning. "Dylan's performance made him very deserving of this honor," the AL manager said, per MLB.com. Cam Schlittler of the Yankees was among other AL candidates, but New York manager Aaron Boone said Schlittler would not pitch in the All-Star Game.
How does Roy Halladay connect both starting pitchers?
The Halladay parallel is the story's sharpest Then & Now hook. Cease is the first Toronto pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Halladay did so for the Blue Jays in 2009, a gap of 17 years reported by CBC Sports. Sánchez, meanwhile, is the first Phillies pitcher to get the nod since Halladay started for Philadelphia in 2011.
That makes Halladay the last All-Star starter for both franchises — and the only pitcher in this conversation who wore both uniforms. Halladay spent 12 seasons with Toronto, won the AL Cy Young in 2003, and started the 2009 Midsummer Classic in St. Louis. After the Phillies acquired him ahead of the 2010 season, he won the NL Cy Young and started the 2011 All-Star Game.
Cease and Sánchez are not chasing Halladay's legacy on Tuesday night, but the symmetry is unmistakable. Toronto waited nearly two decades for another ace to open the Midsummer Classic. Philadelphia waited 15 years for a homegrown left-hander to do the same at Citizens Bank Park.
What do the numbers say about this Cy Young duel?
On paper, this is not a ceremonial nod to a host-city favorite or a feel-good rookie story. Both starters entered the break with legitimate hardware cases. Sánchez finished second in NL Cy Young voting last season and leads all pitchers in Baseball-Reference WAR at 5.4, per MLB.com's game preview. His 50 2/3-inning scoreless streak in May and June was one of the season's defining stretches.
Cease's résumé is equally loud. His 148 strikeouts are not only an AL high — they are the most through a pitcher's first 17 starts as a Blue Jay in franchise history, 18 ahead of Roger Clemens' 130 in 1997, according to MLB's press release. His 2.18 FIP ranks among the league's best, and he saved his sharpest first-half start for last: eight innings, one hit, zero runs, and 11 strikeouts while taking a no-hitter into the ninth against San Francisco before a leadoff single broke it up.
Cease did miss time with a left hamstring strain in late May, but he has been nearly untouchable since returning, posting a 1.73 ERA with 56 strikeouts over six starts. That surge likely sealed Schneider's decision.
Sánchez's path to ace status took longer. Traded from Tampa Bay to Philadelphia after the 2020 season, he did not fully establish himself until 2023. The patience has paid off in a breakout stretch that carried into this All-Star nod.
What makes Sánchez's home start so rare?
Starting the All-Star Game in your own ballpark is a short list of baseball honors. Sánchez will become just the 14th pitcher to do it, following Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium in 2022. Other recent names on that club include Max Scherzer (Nationals, 2018) and Matt Harvey (Mets, 2013).
Philadelphia's All-Star week already had a local tint before first pitch. Harper and Schwarber competed in the Home Run Derby on Monday, and Schwarber will lead off for the NL after replacing Shohei Ohtani, who skipped the showcase for a knee procedure. For Sánchez, the moment carries extra weight: he pitched in relief in 2024 and retired both batters he faced, but this time he opens alone at Citizens Bank Park.
Where can fans watch Cease vs. Sánchez?
The 2026 All-Star Game is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 14, at Citizens Bank Park, according to Yahoo Sports' live coverage hub. Fox will broadcast the game, with streaming available on Fox One, FoxSports.com, and the Fox Sports app.
Behind Cease, the AL will send Mike Trout to lead off, followed by Yordan Alvarez. Sánchez will work against a deep NL lineup paced by Schwarber and Harper. Two Cy Young contenders, two franchises linked by Roy Halladay, and one city ready to roar when Sánchez throws the first pitch — with Dylan Cease standing 60 feet away, ready to answer.