2026 All-Star Game: American League shuts out National League 4-0

Kyle Schwarber of the host Philadelphia Phillies will lead off for the National League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game as the replacement for designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who is skipping the showcase to have a knee procedure ahead of the season's second half.

Brandon Marsh is also starting for the National League. He'll bat 7th and play in right field.

Cristopher Sanchez will be on the mound to start the game for the NL.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice and outfielder Cody Bellinger, and Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene gained American League starting spots because of injuries.

Rice, third in the major leagues with 29 home runs, starts at first base because Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is skipping the game to rest a bad back. Guerrero's initial replacement, the Athletics' Nick Kurtz, sprained a thumb.

The All-Star Game is just the latest event here in the city of Philadelphia that's putting the city in the spotlight.

If you're going to the All-Star game tonight, make sure you're in your seats early because Kyle Schwarber is leading off.

With the home team and city well-represented in Tuesday night's match-up, the fans have a lot to cheer for.

The Associated Press contributed to this post

Major league pitchers are throwing harder than ever.

Four-seam fastballs averaged 94.7 mph through Saturday, up from 94.5 mph last year, 93.7 mph in 2021 and 91.9 mph when Major League Baseball first started tracking in 2008.

The average was 94.4 mph for the first half of 2025, and this year's final figure could increase by a tick.

Six pitchers are at 100 mph in average four-seam velocity led by a pair of relievers, the Athletics' Mason Miller (101.3 mph) and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Edgardo Henriquez (100.6 mph).

Don Mattingly felt a tinge of awkwardness when he was offered the chance to serve as a coach under Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts at the All-Star Game.

Mattingly passed on a guaranteed spot when he left his job as Toronto's bench coach for manager John Schneider after the World Series when the Blue Jays lost the World Series in seven games to the Dodgers.

He's now the interim manager for the Philadelphia Phillies and has them back in the thick of the playoff race.

He'll also coach against Schneider and his Blue Jays staff at Tuesday's All-Star Game played in Philadelphia's home Citizens Bank Park.

Kyle Schwarber speaks to media after losing a heartbreaker to Jordan Walker in the Home Run Derby finals.