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Inside The Phillies

This Phillies Star Is a Shoe-in for the All-Star Game

A Philadelphia Phillies ace has a great case to start the All-Star Game for the National League.
Jun 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) pitches to the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning at Rogers Centre.
Jun 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) pitches to the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

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Earlier this week, The Athletic revealed its early MLB season All-Star picks, and the Philadelphia Phillies had multiple people make the cut.

The first phase of voting for the Midsummer Classic has begun. The All-Star Game will take place on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Among the Phillies players listed is starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez.

There is no doubt that Sánchez should be representing the Phillies at this year’s All-Star Game. In the season, Sánchez is 8-2 in 14 starts with a dominant 1.54 ERA and 113 strikeouts. His 14 starts, 93.1 innings pitched and 5.0 bWAR lead all of baseball, and he is the first pitcher to reach 5.0 bWAR this season.

In his last seven starts, Sánchez has pitched to a 0.51 ERA in 53 innings, giving up just three earned runs and five walks with 63 strikeouts for Philadelphia.

Cristopher Sanchez has earned All-Star start

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) reacts during the seventh inning.
Jun 3, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) reacts during the seventh inning after his franchise record consecutive scoreless streak ends after a San Diego Padres run at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

This is Sánchez’s age-29 season, which has been the best season of his career. He was named an All-Star in 2024 and finished second in NL Cy Young voting in 2025 behind Paul Skenes after going 13-5 with a 2.25 ERA.

He just finished an impressive streak of 50 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, with the historic stretch coming to an end on June 3 when he allowed an RBI single to Jackson Merrill with two outs in the seventh inning of his start against the San Diego Padres.

It was the longest scoreless inning streak in Phillies history, and the longest by any left-handed pitcher ever. The historic streak is the fifth-longest single-season streak since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893.

Sánchez has been one of the best pitchers in the league the past two seasons. He owns a 2.19 ERA since the start of 2025, which is the best ERA in all of baseball in that span with a minimum of 120 innings pitched. He leads Paul Skenes (2.22), Tarik Skubal (2.30), Hunter Brown (2.34) and Cam Schlittler (2.38).

Sánchez will undoubtedly be in consideration to start the All-Star Game for the National League, especially considering the game will take place in his hometown ballpark.

While he may have some competition with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Milwaukee Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski, also pitching at an elite level this year, if Sánchez continues to pitch the way he has for the next few weeks, he will remain in strong consideration to not only appear in the game but start the game and represent Philadelphia.

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