KANSAS CITY — Is there anything more patriotic? Ten days after Independence Day, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in the country’s 250th year will be played in Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace. That is hard to top, especially with five Phillies set to represent the club at th e 96th Midsummer Classic, announced Saturday. It is tied for the second-most All-Stars in franchise history, behind only the eight selections in 2024. There are plenty of storylines beyond the Phillies’ 40-20 turnaround under Don Mattingly, who will serve on Dave Roberts’ National League staff. The first is the only Phillie with a starting nod so far. After finishing with the most votes among the six Phase 2 outfield finalists, Brandon Marsh will stay put in his territory — in right field. He is headed to his first All-Star Game. The high-energy clubhouse staple is in his fifth season with the Phillies and has put together one of the sport’s most eye-popping breakout campaigns. A .315 average with 15 roundtrippers. Not too shabby. His bat has been hot since the start of last summer, too. Over his last 162 games, Marsh owns the third-highest batting average in baseball at .305. This season, he has found more consistency while no longer playing strictly in advantageous matchups against right-handed pitching. Marsh has received more chances against left-handed starters in 2026, making 28 starts against them after appearing in only 49 such games from his arrival in Philadelphia in August 2022 through 2025. Since Mattingly took over on April 28, Marsh has hit .277 with a .508 slugging percentage and .812 OPS against lefties. His slugging percentage ranks 10th in baseball in left-on-left matchups during that stretch. Mattingly pointed toward what the selection means for a player reaching this stage for the first time. “I think that first one is always special,” Mattingly said. “It kind of validates you. ‘I made it. I’m an All-Star.’ It’s just huge.” Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper were named reserves. Both have produced All-Star starter-worthy seasons, but Schwarber ran into Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani, who received the most votes of any player and earned an automatic start, while Harper was selected behind Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. Schwarber, in the first year of his offseason five-year, $150 million deal, has looked every bit as valuable, if not more, in 2026. A year after winning All-Star Game MVP, the Phillies slugger is headed to his fourth Midsummer Classic. He has hit a league-leading 30 home runs and is on pace to match or exceed the 56 he hit last season. Schwarber leads baseball in total bases with 180 and slugging percentage at .570. He also leads the National League in Statcast’s batting run value at 32. He could take part in the Home Run Derby again. He has a shot at 60 homers this season, which would give him 400 for his career and keep him on a strong pace toward 500. His start has served as another reminder that the four-year, $79 million deal he signed before the 2022 season has been one of the sport’s best values. Mattingly put Schwarber’s season in more direct terms. “And Schwarbs, just kind of banging away,” he said. The 33-year-old Harper is playing to the back of his superstar baseball card after an offseason in which his current status as a player was questioned. He has answered it. Harper owns a .906 OPS, one point above his career mark. The star first baseman ranks among the top 12 players in baseball in extra-base hits with 38, home runs with 20, RBIs with 57, walks with 53, slugging percentage at .532 and OPS. Harper, named the “Legends Pick” by the commissioner, entered the season focused on walking more. He has done that while punishing mistakes like never before. The Schwarber-Harper duo has arguably been at its best in its fifth season together. At 33, Harper is now adding another selection to a résumé that has kept growing for well over a decade. “The longevity side of it with Harp,” Mattingly said. “I think it’s nine for him. It’s building… where you start getting those kind of guys that get 12, 15 [selections], whatever it is when they play a long time. I think just the fact that he’s still continuing to play at that level is huge.” On the other side of the ball, the Phillies will have two pitchers representing the club. It is hard to find a left-hander in the National League who has been better than Cristopher Sánchez over the last two seasons. In 50 starts, Sánchez has posted a 2.31 ERA with a 348-67 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His 13.9 Baseball Reference WAR leads all players during that stretch. If anyone thought last season was Sánchez’s ceiling, it was not. His ERA sits at 2.00. He authored a 50 2/3-inning scoreless streak, the longest by a left-hander in baseball history. His changeup has somehow improved, too. A year after opponents hit .170 and slugged .243 against it, they are batting .142 with a .179 slugging percentage against the pitch in 2026. Sánchez does not own the National League’s lowest ERA, sitting behind Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski. But Misiorowski is scheduled to start the final game before the All-Star break, which could keep him from pitching in Philadelphia. That leaves Sánchez as a strong candidate to receive the ball from Roberts and his staff. For Mattingly, the latest honor is another sign of where Sánchez now sits among the league’s elite arms. “It’s his second,” Mattingly said. “It validates him, how he’s gotten better and all of a sudden now is that kind of guy.” The Phillies have had a sure thing in the ninth inning for the first full season in quite some time. Jhoan Duran, the club’s headline trade acquisition from Minnesota at last year’s deadline, has been dominant. He owns a 1.52 ERA and is tied for the league lead with 21 saves. Duran has allowed only four extra-base hits to the 114 batters he has faced. He is on pace to become the first Phillie with 30 saves in a decade, since Jeanmar Gomez in 2016. Duran’s first All-Star nod follows an unconscious June, when he won Reliever of the Month. He recorded nine saves and led qualified relievers with an 18-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Since breaking into the majors, his 89.5 save percentage ranks third in MLB history since 1969 among pitchers with at least 100 save opportunities. The Home Run Derby field has not yet been finalized. Schwarber and Harper, who is on the fence, have both participated before, and Mattingly said he would not stand in the way of either player taking part again. “If guys want to do it, I don’t care,” Mattingly said. “It doesn’t bother me. It’s set up better now than it was before where it’s not a zillion swings.” The All-Star Game, the first in Philadelphia since 1996 and fourth in club history, will take place July 14 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. ...read more read less