PHILADELPHIA — Dylan Cease started a parade of pitchers that shut down a slew of baseball’s best batters in a display of the pitching dominance that rules the sport.“I thought before the game about starting with a changeup and I thought it would be funny,” he said.He didn’t. And the hitters were not laughing.Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter that led the American League over the National League 4-0 in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.Cease fanned Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto and CJ Abrams around a walk in the first inning, when he got six misses among 15 swings. He became just the seventh pitcher to strike out three in an All-Star opening inning after Carl Hubbell (1934), Warren Spahn (1949), Jim Palmer (1977), Dave Stieb (1983), Pedro Martinez (1999) and Brad Penny (2006) — four of them Hall of Famers.After speaking with Justin Verlander, the senior AL All-Star, Cease gave up the idea of starting with a changeup and instead threw Schwarber a 96.9 mph four-seamer.“Verlander talked me out of it,” Cease said. “So we started with the heater and then I was glad we did.”Pitchers struck out 27, a record for a nine-inning All-Star Game, 15 of them by AL hurlers.“That’s the game now. Guys’ stuff is unbelievable,” said AL manager John Schneider, also Cease’s skipper in Toronto. “I think the bullpen guys kind fed off of it. They were all excited coming off the mound. It speaks volumes to how good the pitching is, for sure.”All-Star MVP Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eight …
