Top Stories
...

AL pitchers dominate NL hitters in 4-0 All-Star shutout

Dylan Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter in a show of pitching dominance that led the American League to a 4-0 win over the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

All-Star MVP Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game’s only extra-base hit. The AL won for the 18th time in 23 games and holds a 49-45-2 advantage overall.

Singles by Juan Soto in the fourth, Pete Crow-Armstrong in the eighth and Otto Lopez in the ninth were the only hits by the NL, which failed to advance a runner past first.

Pitchers combined for 27 strikeouts, 15 by AL hurlers.

Cease struck out Kyle Schwarber, Soto and CJ Abrams around a walk in the first inning. He became just the seventh pitcher to strike out three in an All-Star opening inning after Carl Hubbell (1934), Warren Spahn (1949), Jim Palmer (1977), Dave Stieb (1983), Pedro Martinez (1999) and Brad Penny (2006) — four of them Hall of Famers.

Some starting star power was missing, with Jacob Misoriowski, Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani all unavailable. Just six pitches reached 100 mph, the fewest in an All-Star Game since 2021.

Next year’s game is scheduled for the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field for the first time since 1990 but is threatened by possible labor strife.


(AP Photo Matt Slocum)
8 hours ago
catg4 Andy Reid voted NFL's top head coach for 4th straight year 22 hours ago
catg4 Walker shrugs off Philly's boobirds to become first Cardinal to win Home Run Derby yesterday
catg4 Four top-ranked soccer teams in the world make up World Cup semifinals Jul. 12, 2026
catg4 Bregman's 4 RBI lead Cubs to 8-4 win over Reds Jul. 12, 2026
Latest Sports