The 2026 MLB All-Star Game gets underway Tuesday night in Philadelphia, putting the question of what channel is the All-Star Game on at the center of a game that has been years in the making for the Phillies and their fans. Six Phillies will take part, Kyle Schwarber will lead off for the National League, and the crowd at Citizens Bank Park will see the showcase in the park for the first time.
For fans who want the broadcast answer as the first pitch nears, the bigger immediate answer is that the game is here and now, with gates opening at 5 p.m. and people already arriving hours early. Mike Shipula said he got there at 1:30 and waited outside the ballpark, while Dalton Foster said he paid $650 to be there and called Bryce Harper the kind of player who fits Philadelphia.
The setting matters because this is the first time the All-Star Game has been played at Citizens Bank Park, and the first time Philadelphia has hosted it in 30 years. Brandon Marsh, Jhoan Duran, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Harper and Schwarber give the Phillies a heavy imprint on the night, and the home crowd is getting a rare chance to watch the National League's stars in one place.
The game also carries the memory of last year’s finish, when the National League won after a 6-6 tie through nine innings was settled by a first-ever Home Run Derby-style swing-off. This year’s showcase has one notable absence: Shohei Ohtani is sitting out for a knee procedure ahead of the season’s second half, which leaves the National League lineup without one of the sport’s biggest names even as Schwarber leads it off.
Tonight’s ceremonial first pitches will be handled by Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, adding another layer of local history to a night that already feels built for the city. The unanswered piece for many viewers is still the broadcast itself, but the game’s draw is plain enough: a first All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, a packed Philadelphia crowd, and a showcase that begins Tuesday night with the Phillies at the center of it.
