PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- 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 in Philadelphia.
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.
Six players represented the Phillies, including Brandon Marsh, pitchers Jhoan Duran, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo, first baseman Bryce Harper and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber.
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Tonight's ceremonial first pitches will be thrown by a pair of Phillies legends, Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton.
Receiving the pitches will be two other Phillies greats, Hall of Famer Scott Rolen and 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels.
Fans braved extreme heat Tuesday as they lined up outside Citizens Bank Park ahead of the MLB All-Star Game.
Gates opened at 5 p.m., but some fans arrived hours earlier for baseball's Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia.
"I got here at 1:30," said Mike Shipula of Flemington, New Jersey.
Among those waiting was Dalton Foster of Cherry Hill, who paid tribute to his favorite player, Phillies star Bryce Harper.
"He just exudes Philadelphia," Foster said. "He's rough and tough. He doesn't mind being the villain, and I absolutely love that."
The All-Star Game is being played in Philadelphia for the first time in 30 years, drawing fans from across the region and prompting many to spend hundreds of dollars for a ticket.
"I paid $650 to be here tonight," Foster said.
"One thousand," Shipula added.
For newlyweds Nicole and Wes Sheffer, the MLB All-Star Game is more than a baseball event - it's the latest chapter in their Philadelphia love story.
"This is our honeymoon; this is how we're kicking off our honeymoon. This is All-Star Week," said Nicole Sheffer of Glenside.
The couple first met at Citizens Bank Park. Four years later, Wes proposed in the same spot on the day of the Eagles' Super Bowl parade.
They were married on July 3 and are now spending their honeymoon celebrating MLB All-Star Week in Philadelphia.
"As soon as we booked our wedding, we were like, 'Oh, stop, it lines up perfectly. So we were like, 'Where else would you want to celebrate but Citizens Bank Park where we met and got engaged? Now it's the All-Star Game. It's literally like the Emmys of baseball. C'mon, you can't not be here," said Sheffer.
