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Nothing beats summer baseball. 

MLB paid homage to the iconic fireworks scene from “The Sandlot” by recreating the masterpiece at Citizens Bank Park during the All-Star Game. 

The recreated spectacle started with the playing of Ray Charles’ famous “America the Beautiful” for the entire Philadelphia crowd before children in Phillies jerseys peeked through a gate in the fence along the right field foul line.

The kids then came inside the ballpark and waved in several others who rode bicycles onto the field while fireworks shot off in the background. 

An American flag was projected on screens throughout the stadium, and kids continued to make their way toward the middle of the infield before dropping their bikes. 

Players from both teams stood side by side near their dugouts with what appeared to be sparklers, while select players, like Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh, stood with acting fans on the field. 

Some kids exchanged baseball cards with players, and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was playing catch with a young fan.

Released in 1993, “The Sandlot” is an iconic baseball movie that features a scene where the kids play under the fireworks on the Fourth of July. 

The scene also includes Charles’ song, which echoed throughout the ballpark on Tuesday. 

Following the moment, the game resumed with the American League leading the National League 3-0. 

A pair of Yankees, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger, got the scoring started to make it 3-0 in the top of the first before Miguel Vargas extended the AL’s lead to 4-0 with a homer in the eighth inning, a score that would hold in an American League victory. 

The pageantry of the night, which included the starting lineups signing a document similar to the Declaration of Independence, was fitting for America’s 250th birthday.

The American League shutout the National League 4-0 on Tuesday in the 2026 All-Star Game. Here’s some notes I took.

Keeping Score:  I decided to watch the All-Star Game this year. Not only that, I decided to score the All-Star Game this year. I recently found my old scorebook and thought it’d be fun, since I’m here recapping this with you anyways. The first game in this scorebook is a Félix Hernández complete game from Opening Day 2011. The last is both halves of a doubleheader between Washington State University and Cal State Northridge in Pullman that I covered for the school paper in 2017. In between there’s the Mariners/Marlins game that was played in Seattle because of a U2 concert in Miami; a game from the Tokyo Dome that I woke up at 2 a.m. for, per my diligent notes; a game started by Blake Beavan that I did not proceed to score after the first inning; the Red Sox first game after the Boston Marathon bombing; a 2013 WBC game; a 2017 WBC game; and a bunch of losing Mariners baseball. I’m not quite sure what the point of scoring games is in 2026, with technology and such. But I’m adding to my corporeal collection of bizarre baseball games that I might not otherwise remember.

Star-Less: The 2026 All-Star Game was relatively starless. No Aaron Judge. No Shohei Ohtani. Yes Ernie Clement. I won’t lie and say that this adds to my interest in the All-Star Game, as I watch pretty much every year, albeit more passively. But it is cool that we’ll get to see a lot more of the B+ quality of player that I think makes the league so interesting these days. My takeaways from the starting lineups are that I think it’s cool CJ Abrams is batting fourth for the NL. What a year it’s been for him. The other takeaway is I initially wrote Freddie Freeman’s team in my book as “ATL” rather than “LAD.” I’m not sure what that means, but it’s the first mistake on what’s sure to be a rather messy scorecard.

The Pregame: I’m writing this as the lineups are being announced. Each player is entering through an MLB-branded Liberty Bell and jogging a few feet to a podium, where they’re signing what appears to be the starting lineups on a large, old-timey document using quill and ink. What I’ve gotten out of this All-Star week is that Philadelphia really wants you to know that their culture is boxing, the founding fathers, and booing other teams players. The only players who didn’t get booed on announcement were the Phillies players and the Philly-born players (like Mike Trout). After all the players were aligned on the chalk — a process that took a bit more than 30 minutes — the Mastercard Kids4Techᵀᴹ entered and shook all the players hands. 

The Post-Pregame: Play ball! Er, commercial break… Washington’s Lottery, North Idaho College, RnR RV Center, some sort of sponcon game show called Beat Shazam… and Play Ball! Er, no let’s hear from our hosts tonight, Joe Davis and John Smoltz, who I haven’t seen since the postseason. They’re interviewing Justin Verlander, and hinting at a second interview with Verlander later in the game. I’m already not loving this experience. Play ball! Er, commercial break… Claude, Mastercard, World Cup, Dodgers Yankees on Saturday, 75 Years Of Jack In The Box, North Idaho College. Play Ball! Er, Ben Stiller narrating an All-Star Game Carnival interstitial. I’m starting to think this game starts at 5:30 and not 5 like they advertised. Play ball! Er, Mike Trout is from Philadelphia let’s see what he’s got to say to Tom Verducci. Not much, apparently. Play ball! Hey, there’s Crisotopher Sanchez warming up on the mound. We’re actually about to star this thing! Er, sorry, Bryce Harper is talking to Ken Rosenthal. Play ball…

Cristopher Sánchez Has The Runs: Sánchez did not have it tonight, which was disappointing. He got Trout to strikeout leading off with a nasty changeup. Then he gave up a single, a walk, an out, a walk, a single, and a single — the game was 3-0 AL by the time Sánchez struck out Riley Greene to end it.

Dylan Cease, Mic’D Up: I don’t know why they did this, but it wound up being pretty great. FOX mic’d up both Dylan Cease and Shea Langeliers in the bottom of the first. Initially, Davis tried to ask him questions like an interview, and Cease wasn’t having it. But Davis backed off, and it turned into a nice conversation between Cease and Langeliers, calling pitches, discussing locations, mouth-over-glove type stuff. Smoltz didn’t quite catch the magic that was happening and interjected a few dumb questions. “Shea, how have your challenges been this year?” “Uh, I think they’ve been OK.” Cease was similarly unimpressed with Smoltz calling pitches for him. But Cease did ultimately strike out the side. It was a great inning, and the best of way, way too many in-game interviews that took place in this one.

Justin Verlander, Praise Be: The second inning returned with the aforementioned Verlander-themed pitchers roundtable. They had a bunch of other pitchers mic’d up in the dugout, like Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler, though none of their mics worked well enough to hear most what was said. Davis and Smoltz asked them to say very nice things about Verlander, and asked Verlander to offer some sage wisdom. It was awkward but quick as the AL went down in order in the top of the second. Unfortunately, it was too quick, as they brought it back for the bottom of the inning, which was just as awkward. They glossed over the All-Star facetime for Eduardo Rodríguez and Parker Messick, who each pitched clean innings, in favor of the conversation. Lame. The only good thing was the reminder that Verlander is about to go away.

Yee-ouch: Riley O’Brien smoked Junior Caminero in the left hand in the third inning. He seemed to be in considerable pain and laid on the ground for a while. Then he hopped up and ran right into the locker room. O’Brien looked a bit sheepish. Yikes. The broadcast later reported that Caminero’s hand was not broken.

Ray Charles, Mmmkay: I looked away for a commercial break after the fourth and looked up to some sort of interstitial with narration about baseball and nostalgia but its not actually nostalgia or something — I don’t know, I missed the point. Then we jumped back to the broadcast with the Phillies playing a recording of Ray Charles singing America The Beautiful. All of a sudden a bunch of kids on bikes started riding around the field and talking to the players. There was tons of fireworks, which created tons of smoke for the last half of the game. Was this like a halftime show? An interactive theater art piece? Who was this for? OK, back to commercial.

The Mariners Were Here: Randy Arozarena pinch hit for Riley Greene in the sixth inning and faced Raisel Iglesias with a runner on first. He quickly grounded out to shortstop. Arozarena later caught a ball in the outfield. Then he got a single off Jhoan Duran in the ninth. The Mariners were here.

Birthday Boy: Whoa what a performance from Justin Wrobleski on his 26th birthday. He got the seventh for the NL and struck out the side on 12 pitches. His velocity was way up, looking much more like the reliever version of himself from last year, and not so much like the crafty lefty starter that made him an All-Star this year. There were several great one-inning pitching performances tonight, and this was the best so far.

Hey, C’mon It was His Birthday: I wrote the above point before knowing Wrobleski would come back out for a second inning. He made his only mistake of the night by hanging a slider to Miguel Vargas, who hit a towering, 433-foot homer into the second deck in left to extend the AL’s lead to 4-0. He hit so hard that Pete Crow-Armstrong, the latest in-game interview, couldn’t help but give an “Oh god” from his place in centerfield. Wrobleski would punch out the next two batters, finishing his two innings of work with five strikeouts.

Bryan Baker, Shutout: Suddenly it was the ninth and Aroldis Chapman entered the game. He got two batters out. Then for the sake of extending things a bit longer, John Schneider brought in Bryan Baker to get the final out. After another long commercial break, Baker threw one pitch and got the final out. The AL shutout the NL, allowing just three hits with 15 strikeouts. This game was an exhibition, but it felt like a lot of baseball I’ve watched this year.

MVP: Cody Bellinger won MVP, for his two run single in the first. Cool.

Final Thoughts: This was fun. I enjoy the All-Star Game for what it is. Most of it is tedious, and my attention goes in and out, but every year there’s a thing or two that I enjoy. The Cease/Langeliers conversation was great. Wrobleski was fun to watch. There was also a fun Mason Miller vs. Munetaka Murakami at bat (Miller struck him out) that felt exceptionally All-Star-y. I feel as if I’ve done something productive.

The American League scored three first-inning runs and went on to a largely uneventful 4-0 win over the National League on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.  

The NL managed only three hits. The game featured only one extra-base hit, an eighth-inning solo home run by Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas.

Using a total of 11 pitchers, the AL racked up 15 strikeouts. They produced the first shutout in an All-Star game since 2013.  

Here are the top takeaways 

-Perhaps the No. 1 takeaway, unfortunately, was the noticeable lack of star power in the game. Some of that was due to bad luck, with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani out due to injuries, while Tarik Skubal is just back from his elbow injury.  

But some of it was an avoidable problem, with some of the game’s best pitchers out because they pitched on Sunday, the final day games are played before the All-Star break. 

-Jacob Misiorowski, the hardest-thrower in baseball, and Paul Skenes, reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, both fell into that category, as did ZackWheeler, though he originally went unselected for the team and then turned down an honorary offer to be part of the team.  

In any case, MLB could solve the problem by pushing the All-Star Game back to Wednesday, which seems reasonable since the break has been extended in recent years, as most teams don’t resume until Friday.  

As it turned out, pitching dominated anyway, as is often the case in these games, but it's the star power that fans want to see, especially in the form of power arms and high velocity.  

-Cam Schlittler fit into that category also, though he chose to sit out, citing the need to rest up for the second half of the season. Though there seemed enough uncertainty that if Blue Jays manager John Schneider had been willing to name him to start the game, Schlittler could have been convinced to pitch. 

-With so little offense in the game, the Yankees’ Cody Bellinger was named the MVP, thanks to his two-run single in the first inning that gave the AL a 2-0 lead. 

He and fellow Yankee Ben Rice had a big impact early in the game, each driving in runs off NL starter Cristopher Sanchez.  

Bellinger came up with the bases loaded and two outs, and on a 2-2 count, lined a single up the middle off a 95-mph sinker from Sanchez, driving home the first two runs of the game.  

Rice followed with a similar single up the middle on a 1-0 pitch, a 97-mph sinker that Sanchez left belt-high, to make it 3-0 for the AL.  

Both Bellinger and Rice came up with runners in scoring position again in the third. However, Bellinger flied out to Juan Soto in left and Rice struck out swinging – both against Cardinals’ right-hander Riley O’Brien.

-Soto, who was booed loudly by Phillies’ fans during introductions (along with players for the Yankees, Dodgers, and Braves), struck out in the first inning for the NL team against Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease, swinging and missing at an 0-2 fastball on the outside corner at 94 mph.  

In his second at-bat against Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, Soto hit a hard ground ball up the middle for a single. It was the NL’s only hit until Pete Crow-Armstrong singled in the eighth inning.  

-In the second inning, FOX tried what play-by-play announcer Joe Davis called a “round-table discussion” with three pitchers, Justin Verlander, Schlittler, and Misiorowski, as well as game analyst John Smoltz, and it didn’t go particularly well.  

First of all, the top of the second inning went quickly, 1-2-3, allowing for only one answer from each pitcher. Same for the bottom of the second, another 1-2-3 inning, and neither Misiorowski nor Schlittler was expansive with their answers, leaving Verlander to do most of the talking about his Hall of Fame career.  

In retrospect, it was a bad idea, trying too hard to be creative. FOX would have been better off simply interviewing Verlander, who seemed most comfortable talking from the dugout.  

-Then there was the in-game interview with Kyle Schwarber during his at-bat in the third inning. I get that FOX wants to try to spice up the telecast, but it’s rare when these interviews turn out to be worth doing.  

Schwarber seemed to be a willing participant, trying to offer his thoughts on the at-bat, but his earpiece kept falling out, and he was frantically trying to put it back in between pitches before hitting a hard ground ball to second for the final out of the inning.  

At least the interview with Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop during the same inning was going well, with Witt offering enthusiastic answers, but then Davis and Smoltz had to cut that short when Schwarber came up to hit.  

FOX tried the at-bat interview once more, with Bryce Harper in the sixth against Guardians reliever Cade Smith, and it did produce a little humor, as he challenged a called strike, the first challenge of the game. However, Harper’s heart wasn’t really in it.  

“Why not?” he joked, before admitting: “That’s a strike.” 

And sure enough, the call was confirmed and Harper went on to strike out swinging at a splitter in the dirt.

PHILADELPHIA — Willson Contreras, for better or worse, leaves all his emotions on the baseball field.

For two days at the 96th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, it made for fantastic entertainment as the passion of the Philadelphia fan was no match for the Venezuelan All-Star from the Boston Red Sox.

Heck, Contreras did not find a man on the field he could not hug during the Tuesday, July 14 game at Citizens Bank Park. He engulfed home plate umpire Alan Porter in a hug. Ran directly at San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez after a force out – and then wrapped his countryman in a warm embrace.

And, perhaps most poignantly, shared the field with brother William – yes, they hugged at home plate – for the first time in an All-Star Game.

A night earlier, Contreras successfully met the challenge of the Philly fan, advancing past the first round of the Home Run Derby while hometown favorite Bryce Harper was eliminated. Come Tuesday night’s introductions, the crowd at the Bank roared thunderous boos on Contreras, who cupped his hand to his ear.

In short: A lot.

"Man, a lot of stuff. Hanging out with the guys, a bunch of new guys we’ve played against," says Contreras. "You don’t know them as a person. You meet them here. I’m glad to get the invitation to the All-Star Game to meet new guys, new faces.

"Having my family here. Playing with my brother. The Home Run Derby – the fans booing me. There’s a lot of memories I made in two days."

Those feelings were mutual. Contreras is such a force of nature, he couldn't help but energize an AL squad that won for the 11th time in 13 All-Star Games, a 4-0 conquest over the NL. Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has known Contreras a good while - they share an agency, Octagon - and said it was eye-opening to share a dugout with the 11-year veteran for the first time.

"The way he plays the game - hard - it's a lot of fun to be on his side," says Witt. "He loves it. He loves whenever anything like that is going on, so it's special to be around."

One could say few were as deserving. See, Contreras won’t be able to play in the Red Sox’s first game of the second half, serving the final game of a suspension imposed when he had an on-field tiff with Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli, who told Contreras, "Sit down, boy!" after striking him out.

Contreras did not take kindly. And he simply could not return quietly to the dugout.

Major League Baseball’s night to celebrate its own has finally arrived. The 96th Midsummer Classic took place tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. This is the fifth time an All-Star Game has been held in Philly, but the first time at Citizens Bank Park.

The A’s were represented by two deserving All-stars, Shea Langeliers who was the American League (AL) starting catcher, batting third in the lineup and Nick Kurtz who unfortunately couldn’t play due to his thumb injury. 

The American League jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning against the Phillies hometown starter Cristopher Sánchez thanks to a Yordan Alvarez base hit, walks to our own Shea Langeliers, and Bobby Witt Jr. and then singles by the Yankees Cody Belanger and Ben Rice.

Shea led off the third inning against the Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien and singled to centerfield. He was erased on a fielder’s choice by Witt.

Through three innings, the American League hurlers have given up no hits and only one walk to protect their 3-0 lead. That streak ended when Juan Soto singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning against Joe Ryan of the Twins. He was stranded at first when the inning ended.

MLB captured the spirit of the game during the fifth inning ceremony with kids riding their bikes to the stadium and breaking through the outfield fence to join the major leaguers on the field for a fireworks display set to the classic version of America the Beautiful performed by Ray Charles.

Pitching continued to dominate for both sides. Through seven innings the National League only mustered one hit while the American League only had five hits.

The AL added to their lead with the first extra base hit of the game in the top of the eighth, a monster homer by the White Sox Miguel Vargas. Headed to the bottom of the eighth the American League led 4-0.

Aroldis Chapman, the Red Sox closer, entered the game in the bottom of the ninth to finish off the National League batters. After two outs, Chapman was replaced with Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins got the third hit of the game with two outs in the ninth. But Baker slammed the door, giving the American League their first shutout in 13 years. 

PHILADELPHIA — A 2019 NL MVP whose stock had more plunged than dropped in the years afterward, nontendered by the Dodgers and salary-dumped by the Cubs, returned to the All-Star Game for the first time in seven years transformed. No longer is he the 47-homer monster he was with the Dodgers. And no longer is he the .165-hitting shell of himself that he was in 2021. 

Cody Bellinger is a different player, which was reflected in his first-inning at-bat. 

Cody Bellinger is a different person, which was reflected by his companions to the podium after the game: Caiden and Cy, his two young daughters and a significant reason Tuesday meant so much to him. 

The reinvention of Bellinger already had been complete, but it was on display during the American League’s 4-0 victory at a sold-out, rocking, booing and Red, White and Blue’ing Citizens Bank Park, where a player who does just about everything well joined a club of Giancarlo Stanton, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter as Yankees All-Star Game MVPs. 

“Pretty special,” Bellinger said after driving in half the game’s runs with one easy swing. “My first few years in the big leagues — I was here I think two of my first three years, and I was like, ‘I’ll be here every year.’ 

“It took a long time to get back.” 

He got back, getting past nose-diving years with the Dodgers and merely solid seasons with the Cubs, by relying upon his athleticism and smarts more than his power. With the Yankees, he excels with two strikes, knows when to shorten up and knows when to unleash. 

In Tuesday’s first inning, the AL had loaded the bases with two outs against Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sánchez, against whom lefties had hit .137 with a .328 OPS this season. 

Bellinger went down, 0-2. He laid off a sinker and a changeup. And he got a sinker in the middle of the plate and shot it up the middle for a two-run single. 

“I just tried to keep it simple,” said Bellinger, who could not have known at that moment that the AL wouldn’t need another run. 

And yet they scored again one batter later, Ben Rice following it up with another left-on-left single against Sánchez. 

“Ben’s really just been doing it all year,” Bellinger said of Rice. “He’s such a good player. He’s really smart. He’s fun to talk hitting with.” 

“I was so fired up for him,” Rice said of Bellinger, who dislocated his shoulder in the 2020 World Series, statistically was one of the worst players in the league in ’21 and not offered a contract by the Dodgers after ’22. 

He landed with the Cubs and rebuilt his value but only partially, leading to the trade ahead of last season in which Chicago was on the hook for some of Bellinger’s salary. 

With the Yankees, and particularly in a Yankee Stadium that suits him, a new Bellinger has emerged. 

“It’s such a competitive league. It’s hard to be an All-Star,” Bellinger said. “The performance, it all has to come together. 

“Honestly, this one, I just really enjoyed it.” 

Two swings from Bellinger and Rice — “A couple knocks from the Yankee boys,” in the words of AL and Blue Jays manager John Schneider — represented the only scoring outside an eighth-inning homer from the White Sox’s Miguel Vargas. Eleven pitchers on the AL pitching staff combined for a three-hitter while walking two and striking out 15. 

The game will be remembered for the pitching, Bellinger and the pageantry — enough to make theater directors blush. The league went to great lengths to celebrate both baseball and the United States, including through introductions in which players entered through giant Liberty Bells, then signed their names with quills on a lineup scroll that was styled like the Declaration of Independence, and that was before the mid-game fireworks display and seventh-inning, “Happy Birthday,” America singalong. 

So it was only appropriate that the star of the All-Star Game was one of those Yankees from the north.

The American League and The National League took the field at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for the ninety-sixth All-Star Game. This is the fifth All-Star Game in history hosted in Philadelphia, and the first since 1996.

Speaking of the number five, the Atlanta Braves had five representatives on the NL All-Star roster. Drake Baldwin and Ozzie Albies were starters, while Matt Olson was a reserve. On the pitching side of things, Chris Sale and Raisel Iglesias were active for the game.

Small little side nugget, Braves legend Hank Aaron holds a tied for the record for most All-Star Games played with twenty-four. It should be noted that for part of his career they played two All-Star Games per year, but it is still a fun Braves stat.

The NL struggled mightily with their bats against the elite AL pitching. Other than the first inning the NL pitching did great as well. Let’s break down what each Braves player was able to accomplish in the game.

Ozzie Albies

Albies, who is having his best season since 2023, was elected as a starter. It is his first All-Star appearance since the aforementioned 2023 season. He hit sixth in the lineup and the first pitcher he saw was Parker Messick in the second inning. Albies swung on the second pitch he saw, which was an outside change up, and grounded out sharply to Bobby Witt Jr. at SS.

In his second at-bat he faced Nick Martinez in the fifth in to a very similar result. This time he swung on a fastball right down the middle on the third pitch from the left side of the plate and grounded out to first baseman Willson Contreras. Albies was replaced in the sixth inning, but he was able to also pick up an assist from second.

Drake Baldwin

Drake Baldwin was also a starter and hit ninth in the order. The first pitcher he faced was Michael Wacha in the third inning. Unfortunately, he struck out looking on the third pitch he saw. Because he was so late in the lineup, that was the only at-bat he got. He was replaced in the fourth inning by former Brave William Contreras.

Baldwin did have a positive outlook on his first all-star experience:

Matt Olson

Olson made his fourth career All-Star appearance and third as a Brave. He was a reserve so he did not get into the game until the replaced former Brave Freddie Freeman at first base in the top of the fifth. He had his first at-bat in the bottom of the seventh. Olson faced Drew Rasmussen. He hung in the at-bat for six pitches to include fouling off a potential third strike, but he ultimately hit a routine fly ball to Randy Arozarena.

Matt Olson was able to get a second at-bat in. This time it was in the ninth and he faced ageless wonder Aroldis Chapman. Olson decided to swing on the first pitch he saw, which was a 97 MPH sinker inside, and somehow popped it up to SS. Defensively Olson picked up four putouts.

Raisel Iglesias

Raisel Iglesias finally made his All-Star debut this season in his twelfth MLB season. It can definitely be argued that he should have way more than one selection so it was nice to finally see him out there. Iglesias came in to pitch in the sixth inning and pitched a scoreless inning. He was able to get Kevin McGonigle to ground out, followed by a deep fly out from Cody Bellinger. He did give up a single to the red hot Willson Contreras, but recovered and forced a ground ball from Randy Arozarena.

Chris Sale

Everyone boo Dave Roberts. He did not put in Chris Sale to pitch his tenth All-Star game when Sale said he was willing to pitch. He also did not put in rival Giants’ Logan Webb. Coincidence?

Overall the game was dominated by the AL pitching. The NL only had three hits the entire game. The NL pitching was not bad except for the first inning for the most part, but they could not get the bats going at all.

The Orioles only got to send one representative to the All-Star game this season, but Adley Rutschman earned the opportunity. Rutschman made his third All Star appearance after slashing .253/.327/.436 in the first half.

Rutschman’s strong start to the season represented a bounceback for the former first overall pick. The Oregon State product posted a below-average 89 OPS+ while missing time with oblique issues in 2025. Baltimore made waves by inking catcher Samuel Basallo to an eight-year extension and signing free agent Pete Alonso to a five-year deal, but it was Rutschman representing the Orioles in Philadelphia tonight.

Basallo and Alonso have played well for Baltimore. Alonso felt like a legitimate snub after slashing .252/.346/.474 with 21 homers in the first half, but Rutschman deserves credit for finding his way back into the spotlight.

That spotlight came with questions about trade rumors and potential contract extensions. Rutschman handled himself well this week without expressing anything really worthy of discussion. The backstop said he’s had a “phenomenal experience so far with Baltimore,” and reiterated that he doesn’t spend any time thinking about trade rumors or his contract. Rutschman is under team control in Baltimore through next season.

Rutschman was named an All-Star reserve behind AL starter Shea Langeliers and fellow reserve Dillon Dingler. Langeliers entered the break slashing .257/.324/.483 with 21 homers, and Dingler received the nod after slashing .262/.323/.508 with 19 long balls. Langeliers walked and scored a run in the first inning and singled in the third. Dingler struck out in his only at bat.

Rutschman entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning. The backstop fell behind Dodgers’ pitcher Justin Wrobleski 1-2 before grounding out to shortstop in his only at bat. Miguel Vargas followed Rutschman and launched an absolute no-doubt home run to provide the American League a four-run advantage.

The Yankees got the American League on the board with three RBIs in the first inning. Yordan Alvarez, Langeliers and Bobby Witt Jr. all reached to setup scoring opportunities for Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice. National League starter Cristopher Sánchez got ahead of Bellinger 0-2, but the former Dodger lined a base hit up the middle for a two-run single.

Sánchez responded by throwing identical 97 MPH sinkers to Rice. Rice watched the first pitch go by before sending the second pitch 107 MPH back the way it came. Rice’s base hit plated Witt Jr. and provided the American League a three-run advantage.

AL pitchers dominated a National League lineup that featured hometown heros Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. Starter Dylan Cease struck out three while chatting with the Fox broadcast booth in the bottom of the first. Parker Messick, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez, Cade Smith, Jacob Latz and Aroldis Chapman pitched without allowing a hit. Joe Ryan allowed a single to Juan Soto in the fourth, and Louis Varland allowed a base hit to Pete Crow-Armstrong in the eighth.

Former Oriole Bryan Baker entered with two outs in the ninth and allowed the NL’s third hit of the game before retiring Sal Stewart to end the contest. Baltimore sent Baker to Tampa last year in exchange for the 37th overall pick in the 2025 draft. The Orioles selected high school prospect Slater de Brun with the pick but eventually traded him to Tampa in the Shane Baz deal.

Rutschman also received pitches from his former college teammate Drew Rasmussen. The former Beaver and Rays starter is 7-5 with a 3.26 ERA this season.

The game featured plenty of talent but lacked a bit of juice without players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, José Ramírez, Vlad Guerrero Jr., Jacob Misiorowski, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, and Zack Wheeler. The lack of offense led to a lack of fireworks in the game, but MLB entertained fans with a massive Sandlot-inspired fireworks show after the fourth inning. The Fox booth conducted several mid-game interviews with players on the bench and actively playing on the field.

Bellinger was named the MVP after his two-run single in the first. Rays star Junior Caminero exited after taking a HBP off his hand, but Fox Sports reported that X-Rays came back negative.

Rutschman and the Orioles will look to extend their current four-game win streak when play resumes on Friday. Baltimore is currently two games back of the third and final wild card spot.

The 2026 MLB All-Star Game will not go down in history as one of the most memorable Midsummer Classics in the near-century-long history of the event. Highlights on the field were few and far between, broadcast debacles and poorly-executed ideas compromised the viewing experience, and several distracting pieces of vaguely baseball-themed pageantry bloated the presentation of a contest which would have otherwise flown by.

But for our decidedly narrower purposes here at Pinstripe Alley, the game was a splendid success. The American League defeated the National League 4-0 at Citizens Bank Park, fueled by a first-inning rally which was paid off by both Yankees representatives in John Schneider’s starting lineup. The man who drove in the first two runs, Cody Bellinger, was eventually named All-Star Game MVP, the fourth Yankee to ever win the honor. The AL pitching staff limited the NL to just three hits all night in a tidy victory for the Junior Circuit.

The game was listed as beginning at 8pm ET, but fans needn’t have worried about missing the first pitch, which came almost a full half-hour later. All the pomp and circumstance gave way to a dream start for the AL—and the little Yankee contingent nestled within their starting lineup. Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez received the opportunity to start the All-Star Game on his home mound, but he may have been a bit nervous. His command was sporadic as the AL built a rally on a Yordan Alvarez single and a pair of walks. With two outs, Cody Bellinger came up with an opportunity to stake his side to an early advantage.

There are more ideal scenarios to face Bellinger than with two runners in scoring position and a left-handed pitcher on the mound.

Sánchez actually got ahead of Cody 0-2 with a pair of sinkers, then missed low with yet another. He turned to his signature changeup but missed badly inside. Having lost some confidence on that pitch, Sánchez returned to the sinker and left it belt-high in the strike zone. Bellinger swatted it up the middle and past shortstop CJ Abrams to score a pair.

Thanks to this early knock in the low-scoring game, Bellinger was awarded the All-Star Game MVP. He joins Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013), and Giancarlo Stanton (2022) as the lone Yankees to win the honor. Congrats to Cody!

Ben Rice wasted little time coming up with a nearly-identical result two pitches later. The first-time All-Star took a first-pitch sinker from the desperate southpaw, who was fully scared off from his changeup. Another sinker came down the pipe, and Rice capitalized. He found the same hole Bellinger did, grounding it up the gap to the right of second base to bring in yet another run. Thanks to the two hard-hit singles from the Yankees, the AL led 3-0. Who needs Aaron Judge?

(That is a rhetorical question.)

The NL failed to respond in kind to Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease, who struck out three batters and walked one in a scoreless opening frame. Cease and Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers wore microphones which they could use to communicate with each other—neither seemed all that interested in providing engaging radio in the process. It’s clear FOX was trying to replicate the success of mic’ing up Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino back in 2022 without recognizing what made that pairing work—they were Yankee teammates, for starters.

The second proceeded with little incident, as Eduardo Rodríguez and Parker Messick provided scoreless innings. Things went pear-shaped in the third inning though. Cardinals breakout reliever Riley O’Brien entered for the road third, and misfired on a fastball to Junior Caminero—the pitch hit the burgeoning Rays superstar on the wrist. Caminero fell to the ground, then wasted little time racing down the dugout tunnel and out of the game. X-rays taken during the game were negative, but it was a scary moment that put a damper on the festivities.

The show had to go on, however. After a truly pointless and unsuccessful All-Star Game challenge(???), the Yankee duo got more opportunities to drive in runs with two runners aboard. They were decidedly less successful the second time: Bellinger popped out to Juan Soto—of all people—on the first pitch he saw from O’Brien. Rice struck out swinging on a nasty 1-2 changeup to retire the side. Hey, at least they came through in the first.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Ben Rice exited the game to make way for fellow AL East denizen and Home Run Derby competitor Willson Conteras. Bellinger remained in right field, but Twins righty Joe Ryan pitched a scoreless inning without a ball being hit his way.

The folks at Citizens Bank Park appeared to expend their entire pyrotechnic budget in between the fourth and fifth. On what, I’m not entirely sure. But there were a lot of fireworks. When we came back from that display, the playing field was swamped by a thick layer of smoke—just another complication in an absurd presentation put on by MLB tonight.

Interestingly, Bellinger joined Mike Trout as the only two All-Star starters to take three plate appearances tonight. Cody got his third turn at bat in the top of the sixth inning against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias, and gave the 1-0 offering a good ride to the opposite field. Corbin Carroll tracked it down in the gap, though. Iglesias worked around a two-out single from Contreras to put up yet another zero on the box score—those three Yankee ribbies continued to stand up as the only scoring entering the game’s latter third.

In the top of the seventh, breakout Dodger lefty Justin Wrobleski turned in one of the better pitching performances of the night by striking out the side. While Wrobleski and his bottom-of-the-inning counterpart, Drew Rasmussen, are deserving All-Stars, their appearances underscored another unfortunate aspect of this year’s game: a relative lack of household names taking the mound.

To wit, here are just a few starting pitchers who didn’t participate in the game tonight: Paul Skenes, Jacob Misiorowski, Chris Sale, Shohei Ohtani, and Yankees breakout star Cam Schlittler. Of course, this is an annual issue with the All-Star Game, but the timing felt particularly poor for this year’s crop of star hurlers.

We finally got another run in the top of the eighth inning courtesy of White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas. Vargas drew in for the injured Caminero in the third, and in his second at-bat, he took Wrobleski to the second deck in left field for a massive solo shot, giving the American League a good-measure insurance run.

I got one last chuckle out of this game when John Schneider pulled Aroldis Chapman from the game with two outs in the ninth to give the final out to a Ray. Bryan Baker did the honors by fielding a comebacker from Sal Stewart to record the first All-Star Game shutout since 2013. Was that fun? I’m not sure.

Enjoy the rest of the All-Star Break, everybody! The Yankees have even more reasons to enjoy it given the way Bellinger and Rice represented them tonight. Their first assignment out of the intermission will come in the Bronx on Friday, as the defending back-to-back champion Dodgers come to town. First pitch for the series opener is set for 7:05 PM, with coverage on YES.

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA — Jacob Misiorowski's second trip to the MLB All-Star Game was much different than his first.

The Milwaukee Brewers' young pitching phenom seems to be okay with that.

"Honestly, I think it was a little bit more fun in a way," Misiorowski said in a media scrum outside of the National League clubhouse in the basement of Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14. "There's no stress that comes with it. I didn't have to worry about pitching, and I could just have fun, talk to guys, really just soak it all in."

MLB All-Star Game: AL wins behind first shutout in 13 years

He said he spent his two days in Philadelphia — where he was greeted by Phillies fans with a rather Brotherly Love welcome during pregame introduction on Tuesday — spending time on the field and talking to pitchers like the Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes and the San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb.

The main reason Misiorowski's second trip to the Midsummer Classic was different than the one last year, which caused a bit of controversy as it came just five games into his big league career, was the fact that he was ineligible to pitch.

Originally scheduled to pitch the Brewers' final game of the first half against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, but the National League Central standings leaders skipped that start due to arm fatigue. Misiorowski was slated to go head-to-head against Skenes.

"A little forearm stuff," Misiorowski said on July 11 after his start was pushed back. "Nothing crazy. Just didn’t bounce back. A little quick on the days off between but nothing crazy. We also have this long break."

So how is Misiorowski feeling with a little bit more rest since his last start on July 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals, where he struck out 11 hitters over seven innings of work? For starters, it doesn't seem he is concerned about missing his next start after the All-Star break.

"We're good, yeah," said Misiorowski, who leads the majors with 167 strikeouts on the season. "Ready to go for the second half."

Jacob Misiorowski does not sound like someone concerned about missing his next turn through the rotation. pic.twitter.com/fYQadvPd1P

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) July 15, 2026

Misiorowski, who went 10-4 with a 1.62 ERA in 18 starts in the first half, will spend the rest of the All-Star break in Milwaukee and get further treatment.

"Can go back home and get some treatment from our trainers and work out, get ready for whatever game they decide I'm going to throw," Misiorowski said. "Nothing too crazy."

As for a target date for his first start of the second half, the 24-year-old, who is in contention for his first National League Cy Young Award, said there isn't one, but he'll be ready for whenever Brewers manager Pat Murphy and his staff tell him he has the ball next.

"First game, second game, third game, fourth game, fifth game, somewhere in there. I don't know," Misiorowski said with a smile.

The Brewers open the second half of the season on Friday, July 17 against the Miami Marlins at 7:40 p.m. ET at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jacob Misiorowski 'ready to go for the second half' despite arm fatigue concerns

Cody Bellinger can add another accolade to his storied career.

The Yankees outfielder was named 2026 MLB All-Star Game MVP after going 1-for-3 with a two-run single.

Bellinger's hit came in his first at-bat in the first inning. National League starter Cristopher Sanchez of the Phillies labored in his one inning at the Midsummer Classic. Sanchez allowed a hit and walked two to bring up Bellinger with two outs. Bellinger, hitting sixth in the American League lineup, worked back from an 0-2 count, taking two offspeed pitches for balls before Sanchez made the mistake of leaving a 96 mph sinker over the heart of the plate. Bellinger laced a 101.1 mph single to open up the scoring.

"Baseball’s a funny game. He’s such a dominant pitcher and his stuff is so good," Bellinger said of his first-inning at-bat. "Really, for me, it’s all the guys in front of me. Base hit, a walk. Bobby [Witt Jr.] had a great at-bat in front of me. Saw like eight pitches. Bases loaded, two outs, just tried to keep it simple.

"Pitching today was just dominant; it was nasty. Hard to score some runs. Just try to stay within myself and try to get the job done there."

Bellinger later admitted that he didn't think his single in the top half of the first inning would hold up to grab the Ted Williams Award.

"Not in the moment," he said. "As the game went on, the pitching was just absolutely dominant."

In the game, the AL had three of their seven hits in a three-run first inning, and the NL didn't tally a base hit until the fourth as they managed just three singles and were shut out for the first time in over a decade.

Cody Bellinger drives in the first two runs of the All-Star Game! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xJJtsi5om4

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) July 15, 2026

Yankees first baseman Ben Rice followed up with a single to drive in another run. It was more than enough as the AL pitching staff struck out 15 batters in the 4-0 win.

"I was so excited for him, especially seeing him drive in those two runs early from the on-deck circle," Rice said of his teammate. "I was so fired up for him.

"I was just so happy for him and his family."

It's the third All-Star appearance for Bellinger, but his first since 2019, when he won NL MVP as a member of the Dodgers.

"Took a long time to get back," Bellinger said of his 2026 All-Star experience. "It’s such a competitive league. It’s hard to be an All-Star. Health, performance, it all has to come together. This one, I just really enjoyed it." 

With the honor, Bellinger became just the fifth Yankee to win the award, joining Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022). 

"It’s special, man. Wearing this jersey, I feel proud wearing it," Bellinger said of joining that list. "It comes with a lot. I try to put my best foot forward and give it everything I got."

Ben Rice with an RBI single!

Yankees hitters drive in all three runs for the American League in the first inning 👏 pic.twitter.com/AFFbSaYJnC

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) July 15, 2026