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 his first appearance in an All-Star Game. He joins a select group of Toronto pitchers to start the Midsummer Classic, following 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. Despite Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees being considered a strong candidate, Schneider stated that Cease was his preferred choice regardless. Schlittler withdrew from the game on Sunday due to pitching 6 2/3 innings on Saturday.
Schneider conveyed the news to Cease and his teammates before Sunday’s game against the Padres in San Diego. The announcement was made using a whiteboard adorned with some of Cease’s preferred items, including a baseball field, cats, and oysters. Schneider also contacted New York manager Aaron Boone to inform him of the decision and discuss managing in 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. He was removed from the game after allowing a lead-off single, having thrown a career-high 118 pitches in a 10-0 victory.
National League starter and other selections
For the National League, Cristopher Sánchez of Philadelphia will be the starting pitcher. This selection highlights what has been described as a breakout season for the 28-year-old. Sánchez has an 11-4 record with a 2.62 earned-run average and 144 strikeouts over 127.1 innings pitched. He is the first Phillies pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2011.
Cease concluded the unofficial first half of the season with a 6-4 record, a 2.56 earned-run average, and 148 strikeouts in 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 struck out 200 or more batters in each of the previous five seasons and is on track to achieve this again. He has won four of 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 is noted as the largest ever awarded to a free agent in the franchise’s history.
Other players named to the American League roster include Ernie Clement, who will start at second base, and reliever Louis Varland, who 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, was also considered for a spot, entering Sunday with 22 home runs and 62 runs batted in. Okamoto has tied Shohei Ohtani for the most home runs by a Japanese-born rookie in major league history and is two home runs shy of the club record for a rookie, set by Eric Hinske in 2002.
Okamoto finished second among third basemen in the AL fan voting and was not automatically named to the team. He was also not selected for the home run derby. The Blue Jays entered Sunday with four victories in their last seven outings and were within five games of .500, placing them 2 1/2 games out of a wildcard playoff position in the American League East.
The All-Star Game is scheduled for Tuesday.
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Source: theglobeandmail.com
Chloe Tremblay is the Sports Reporter at CasinoNews, covering basketball, tennis and athletics with nine years of reporting experience. She reported on the Raptors' rise and two Olympic cycles. She holds a degree in Journalism from Concordia University. Based in Montreal, she plays recreational basketball and follows track athletics. “The best stories come from the athletes everyone overlooks.”
