All-Stars aplenty | Sports Daily Newsletter

It’s only fitting that the team with the best record in baseball would have seven players headed to the All-Star Game.

The Phillies will reach a new high in franchise history on July 16 with those seven players on the National League team in Arlington, Texas. Relievers Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman were named to the team Sunday along with starting pitchers Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler. They’ll join NL starters Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Trea Turner.

“For me, personally, this is kind of weird to say, but not a surprise entirely, because of how good the players are in this locker room,” said catcher Garrett Stubbs. “But also a huge surprise because seven guys going to the All-Star Game is no small feat. Especially with how many good players there are in the league.”

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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South Jersey’s Tyler Phillips spent seven years in the minors, but he made his big league debut Sunday in the Phillies’ 6-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. “I thought he was fantastic,” manager Rob Thomson said after Phillips struck out seven in four innings of relief. He allowed three hits and a run. However, Michael Mercado’s start for the Phillies was less than encouraging.

Rob Thomson deserves more credit for the Phillies’ hot start than Dave Dombrowski, Marcus Hayes writes.

How aggressive will Dombrowski be at the trade deadline? Here’s a look at what he has done in the past.

Next: The Phillies will host the Dodgers at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP).

The dust has settled and Paul George is officially a member of the 76ers after signing his contract on Saturday. Joel Embiid was finally allowed to speak about his new teammate. While Embiid is excited to have George on the roster, he’s reserving judgment on how the team — and its new big three of Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey — will mesh next year. “It was exciting [getting George],” Embiid said. “Obviously, that’s a great job that [the front office] did. But we’ve still got to go on the court and try to win.”

Free-agent signing Caleb Martin is a perfect fit for the new-look Sixers, David Murphy writes.

Next: Sixers star Joel Embiid is participating in Team USA training camp before taking the court on Wednesday against Canada in the USA Basketball showcase.

The Flyers Training Center was packed Saturday to see the next generation of talent for the Orange and Black. First-round draft pick Jett Luchanko made a good first impression in the scrimmage at development camp. There is room for improvement, of course. “He can probably take a few more chances,” said assistant general manager Brent Flahr. “But I would expect to see significant improvement with his production.”

Another Flyers draft pick, Noah Powell, made his own great first impression when he met 7-year-old Howard James, a hockey player who is hearing impaired like Powell.

General manager Danny Brière checked off one of the last boxes on his summer to-do list by re-signing Egor Zamula to a two-year contract.

Nathan Harriel became a Union stalwart the old-fashioned way: with a whole lot of hard work. And now the defender has his biggest reward yet. The Union academy product will join Jack McGlynn on the U.S. men’s Olympic team. He’s off to France this week.

“Playing on a bigger stage, for my country, representing my hometown of Oldsmar, Florida — just extremely honored to be a part of it, and actually making it happen,” Harriel told The Inquirer. “Growing up, as young kid I watched so much of every Olympics there was.”

“It feels amazing to finally get the news,” said McGlynn, 20.

The Union’s news has not been great lately, but at least they came away with a tie against the New York Red Bulls in the return of Damion Lowe.

Next: The Union will visit Toronto FC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Apple TV).

July 5, 1953: Phillies ace Robin Roberts scattered 10 hits to shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0, at Forbes Field. Here’s the incredible part: It was Roberts’ 28th straight complete game dating back to the previous season. The Hall of Famer had 305 complete games in his career.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Scott Lauber, Jackie Spiegel, David Murphy, Gina Mizell, Devin Jackson, Marcus Hayes, and Jonathan Tannenwald.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Welcome back after our long holiday weekend, Sports Daily readers! Thanks as always for tuning in. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s newsletter. — Jim