​PHILADELPHIA — Cristopher Sánchez, untouchable for most of the first half, will feel the full appreciation of his dominance when he throws the first pitch of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 14.He will kick-start what could be a nightlong fawning over the Philadelphia Phillies’ brightest stars, leading a contingent of six hometown players in front of a Citizens Bank Park crowd eager for its first time playing host to the Midsummer Classic since 1996, when it was staged at Veterans Stadium, and many of this game’s stars were not yet born.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYet Sánchez and the National League will not have it easy; the American League will trot out Toronto Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease — who flirted with a no-hitter in his last outing — to start the game; as the Philadelphia Inquirer noted, the last pitcher to start an All-Star Game for either team was the late Hall of Famer Roy Halladay.HOME RUN DERBY FIELD: Who is competing in Monday’s All-Star Game event?Cease will be backed by a power-packed lineup that gets a quick jump-start with three-time All-Star Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, and revolves around consensus first-half MVP Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros.The NL lineup will be missing Shohei Ohtani, but that simply opens up the designated hitter slot for the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, who has hit 88 homers, most in the major leagues, since the start of the 2025 season.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUSA TODAY Sports is providing live on-site coverage of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia. Full starting lineups will be released at 2 pm ET in a press conference format with Dave Roberts and John Schneider. Follow for updates and news as the National League and American League starting lineups are revealed:This section will be updated once the starting lineups are releasedStarting pitcher: Toronto Blue Jays RHP Dylan CeaseStarting pitcher: Philadelphia Phillies LHP Cristopher SánchezMLB announced on Sunday that Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez will start for the National League on Tuesday in the All-Star Game. He is the first Phillies pitcher to start the Midsummer Classic since Roy Halladay got the start in 2011.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSánchez, who finished as the runner-up in the Cy Young Award race last season, has continued to be one of the top pitchers in the league this year. He finished the first half with an 11-4 record and a 2.62 ERA with 144 strikeouts in an MLB-leading 20 starts.Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who is serving as the American League manager in the All-Star Game, shared in the Blue Jays locker room on Sunday that right-hander Dylan Cease will start the Midsummer Classic.Cease, who was one of the Blue Jays’ big free agent additions this past offseason, went 6-4 in the first half of the season with a 2.56 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 98 1/3 innings pitched.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn his final start