The 95th MLB All-Star Game delivered a finish unlike anything fans had seen before, as the National League held off a furious American League rally and claimed a dramatic 7-6 victory, thanks to the first-ever All-Star Game swing-off. With Truist Park rocking and the stakes sky-high, the new tiebreaker format added a home run derby-style exclamation point to a game already rich in history.
The back-and-forth contest ended in a 6-6 tie after nine innings, triggering the newly implemented swing-off, part of the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the Players Association. Each manager selected three sluggers and one batting practice pitcher to go head-to-head in a final flurry of long balls. The hitters were given three swings each, alternating between teams with unlimited pitches.
American League skipper Aaron Boone tapped Brent Rooker (Athletics), Randy Arozarena (Mariners), and Jonathan Aranda (Rays), with Yankees coach Travis Chapman lobbing the pitches. NL manager Dave Roberts countered with Kyle Stowers (Marlins), Kyle Schwarber (Phillies), and Pete Alonso (Mets), with Dino Ebel tossing from the mound.
Rooker set the tone early for the AL, mashing two towering home runs that traveled 435 and 459 feet. Stowers answered with a 410-foot blast to get the NL on the board. Arozarena extended the AL’s edge with a 416-foot rocket. But the moment belonged to Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies slugger went 3-for-3, parking balls 428, 461, and 382 feet to put the National League ahead for good. Aranda couldn’t counter, going hitless in his three swings, giving the NL a hard-fought 4-3 win in the swing-off showdown.
For his clutch performance, Schwarber was named Ted Williams All-Star Game MVP presented by Chevrolet. The three-time All-Star became the first designated hitter to ever earn the honor and only the second Phillies player to take home the award, joining outfield legend Johnny Callison (1964).
Before the dramatic swing-off, the National League stormed ahead with a four-run outburst in the sixth inning, building a commanding 6-0 lead. But the American League came alive in the seventh, sparked by Rooker’s three-run blast, which made him just the fourth player in A’s history to go deep in an All-Star Game. He joined an elite list that includes Terry Steinbach (1988), Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson (1971), and Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (1935). Rooker’s three RBIs tied Foxx for the most ever by an Athletics player in a single All-Star appearance.
The AL refused to go quietly in the ninth. Byron Buxton doubled to left-center and was brought home by an RBI double from Bobby Witt Jr. Jazz Chisholm Jr. then grounded out to advance Witt to third, setting up Steven Kwan, who legged out an infield single to tie the game at six apiece. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the AL’s six-run rally marks the largest comeback to tie or take the lead in All-Star Game history, surpassing the NL’s five-run surge in 1955.
Although the American League still leads the all-time series 48-45-2, the National League has now captured two of the last three. And with the debut of the swing-off bringing fans to their feet, it’s clear MLB’s new generation of stars know how to put on a show when it matters most.