Ferguson Jenkins never started the All-Star Game. Neither would Rick Sutcliffe, Jake Arrieta, or any other Cubs ace from the more recent era.
The only All-Star starting pitcher in Cubs lore was Claude Passeau in 1946.
Justin Steele, who went into the break 9-2 with a 2.56 ERA, had floated as a chance to break the dry spell, but the Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen withdrew the assignment, which was announced Monday.
White Sox pitchers get the ball more often. Billy Pierce started three times and Early Wynn, Esteban Loaiza, Mark Buehrle and Chris Sale once each.
Let's run some numbers on Chicago's All-Star starting pitcher.
passeau: He won 162 games in his 13-year career, including a 124-94 record with a 2.96 ERA in nine seasons with the Cubs.
In the 1946 All-Star start, Passeau suffered a loss after allowing two runs in three innings in a 12–0 American League loss.
Passeau was a key figure in the 1945 World Series, hitting the Tigers once to win 3-0 in Game 3. In Game 6, he went with a 5-2 lead in the seventh game after hitting a hard ball from a pitch. hand. The Cubs won 8-7 in 12 innings but had to use Game 7 starter Hank Borowy four innings. In the final game, Borowy allowed three runs without stopping the batter. The Tigers rolled 9-3.
penetrate: He pitched three scoreless innings early in 1953 and did the same in 1955. In '56, he allowed one run in three innings and was the losing pitcher as the National League won 7–3.
Pierce's 211 wins include a 186–152 record with a 3.19 ERA for the Sox from 1949 to 1961. According to JAWS, who averaged his career WAR Reference Baseball with his best seven seasons, Pierce stands at 45.6. The Hall of Fame starting pitcher average is 61.4. Consider Pierce on the cusp.
Wynn: A Hall of Famer with 300 wins, Wynn went 64-55 with a 3.72 ERA in five career-ending seasons for the Sox. For the 1959 AL champion Sox, he was 22-10 with a 3.17 ERA.
Wynn started the first of two All-Star Games in 1959, allowing one run in three innings. NL won 5-4.
Language: He threw one full season and part of two more for the Sox. Winner of 126 games, he had a scintillating moment for the 2003 Sox when he went 21-9, 2.90.
He started the '03 All-Star Game with two scoreless innings in a 7-6 AL win.
Buehrle: Like Pierce, Buehrle is on the boundary of the Hall of Fame. With a 214-160 career record, including a 161-119 mark and a 3.83 ERA in 12 seasons with the Sox, Buehrle has a 47.4 JAWS, 1.8 more than Pierce.
In 2005, when he was 16-8 with a 3.12 ERA for the Sox World Series champion, Buehrle won his All-Star start. He pitched two scoreless innings as the AL won 7-5.
Sale: The left-hander was 119-77 and bowled for the Red Sox in his 13th season. His record includes a 74-50 mark and a 3.00 ERA for the White Sox from 2010 to 2016.
In '16, when he went 17-10, 3.34, he started the All-Star Game and gave up one in the only inning of a 4-2 AL win.