American League shuts out the National League to win the All-Star Game in Philadelphia
A near-record 15 strikeouts and a three-run first carry the AL to a 4-0 win at Citizens Bank Park, with Cody Bellinger named MVP.
The American League turned the Midsummer Classic into a pitching clinic on Tuesday night, shutting out the National League 4-0 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to claim the 2026 All-Star Game. On a night built around the host Phillies, it was the visitors who spoiled the party.
The AL went to work immediately against hometown starter Cristopher Sanchez. The Phillies left-hander, the first Philadelphia pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay, was tagged for three runs in the opening inning, with Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice both delivering run-scoring hits. That early cushion was all the American League's arms would need.
A near-record night on the mound
What followed was one of the most dominant pitching displays the game has seen. American League bowlers struck out 15 batters, one short of the nine-inning All-Star record of 16, and ten of the eleven pitchers used recorded at least one strikeout. The National League managed just three hits, all singles, tying for the second-lowest total ever in the exhibition.
Bellinger takes the honours
Cody Bellinger was named Most Valuable Player, his two first-inning runs batted in proving decisive. The only extra-base hit of the entire evening came late, when Miguel Vargas launched a solo home run in the eighth to round out the scoring. For all the star power in both dugouts, the story of the night was pitching and defence rather than the fireworks the Home Run Derby had promised 24 hours earlier.
The result hands the American League bragging rights heading into the season's second half, and sends the National League into the break still looking for answers in a game that got away from it early.
