Category: MLB

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We need bat flips.

The home run swing-off to end Tuesday’s All-Star Game was great. Whether you embrace it as a revelation or dismiss it as a gimmick, baseball needs more of that kind of imagination on the national stage. On the morning after the game, it’s what you’re talking about.

But baseball cannot count on a tie score every summer. 

The All-Star Game cannot live off old glories. The All-Star Game cannot thrive simply because the NFL turned the Pro Bowl into a flag football game and skills competition while the NBA turned its All-Star Game into a week of parties and 48 minutes of a defense-free scrimmages.

Baseball can say its All-Star Game is the best, but the bar is as low as the final round of a limbo competition. Baseball needs the best players, not the best available players, in the game. And, in an era dominated by social media and short attention spans, baseball needs innovation in the Home Run Derby — not just in an All-Star Game tiebreaker, but in the actual Home Run Derby that is its own Major Television Event on the night before the game.  

The first suggestion, from Brent Rooker, the Athletics’ All-Star designated hitter: “I had the idea that we would just stick PCA (the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong) and (the Athletics’) Denzel Clarke in the outfield during the Home Run Derby and just let them run down balls. That’s a fun idea that popped into our clubhouse a few weeks ago.”

An all-in-one Home Run Derby and skills competition of outfielders contorting their bodies in all directions to make highlight-worthy catches? That’s a cool thought.

Bat flips would be better.

Read more:Amid resurgent year and batting title push, Will Smith unbothered being ‘overlooked’

The bat flip, once scorned as an instrument of disrespect, is now celebrated by the league itself. It naturally lends itself to the “Did you see it?” reels young fans share on Instagram and Snapchat.

The first round of Monday’s Home Run Derby was exhausting. It took nearly two hours, and what little flash there was felt forced. Besides, the sluggers you most wanted to see — Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge — declined to participate.

“I already did it,” Judge said Tuesday. “I don’t know what else you want from me. I think it’s time for somebody else to step up and do their thing and have fun with it. I love seeing new faces in the game go out and do their thing.”

Said Dodgers pitcher and Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting Clayton Kershaw: “It’s a lot of swings, man. It’s not easy to do. When I used to hit, I was tired after taking six swings. I can’t imagine doing that for three straight hours.

“If Shohei and Aaron Judge and those guys, if they had them all in there, it would be awesome. You can’t expect those guys to do it every single year.”

So keep the eight-man field but split it into two groups: four players in the traditional format, and four players in a one-round competition judged not only by how many home runs you hit but with how much flair you toss your bat after each one.

The creative and outrageous dunks in the NBA's slam dunk competition go viral. The All-Star bat flips would too.

“With respect to an event like the Home Run Derby, we should continue to innovate,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “It’s fundamentally an entertainment product.”

There’s an idea, Rob. Run with it.

“The game piece of it? Fundamentally, I believe in the game,” Manfred said. “I think what we have to do is continue to work with our very best players to make sure that they’re here and showcasing themselves in front of a fan base that is really, really important to us over the long haul.”

Right now, all the very best players are not here. When MLB announced the All-Star rosters, the league selected 65 players. By game time, with all the replacements for players that withdrew, the All-Star count was up to 81.

That meant that, for every four players announced as an All-Star, one chose not to play.

“Usually, when you think All-Star Game, you think probably the best at the time in the game right now are going to be playing,” Phillies All-Star designated hitter Kyle Schwarber said.

Sometimes they are: On Tuesday, Schwarber was the most valuable player, with the winning swings in the swing-off.

Schwarber and Kershaw noted that, for the most part, the position players are here, and the pitchers dominated the list of missing stars. Pitchers throw harder these days. They need time to recover. Tony Clark, the executive director of the players’ union, talked about the need for players to find “opportunities on the calendar to take a breather.”

Read more:'It was awesome.' Clayton Kershaw is the All-Star among All-Stars as NL defeats AL

And, frankly, the All-Star Game does not mean nearly as much to players as it did before interleague play started 28 years ago. Winning one for the National League used to actually mean something.

“The All-Star Game then and the All-Star Game now are two completely different things,” Clark said. “The requirements for players, the travel and logistics for their family and support, the day to day of a 162-game season is more complex and it’s more challenging than it’s ever been.”

Yet in 1980, when the All-Star Game was played at Dodger Stadium, players had one free day before resuming the schedule. Today, players have two days.

And, in 1980, fans got to see the players they wanted to see. Should each team have an All-Star representative? Yes. Should managers feel compelled to use every one of those players? No way.

On Tuesday, the National League used 13 pitchers and the American League 11.

In 1980, each league used five pitchers. Steve Stone and Bob Welch each pitched (gasp) three innings. The top four batters in the American League lineup — Willie Randolph, Fred Lynn, Rod Carew and Reggie Jackson — each batted at least three times.

Today’s pitchers are reluctant to work even one inning in the All-Star Game if they pitched on the final weekend of the first half. So move the All-Star Game back one day to Wednesday, and move the Home Run Derby back one day to Tuesday. No longer would players have to scramble for Sunday night private jets to get to the All-Star Game by Monday morning.

As a bonus, MLB could play the Futures Game on Monday, when no other games are being played, instead of in relative invisibility because the league insists on putting what it says is a showcase event up against a full schedule of regular-season games.

“It would be great,” Clark said, “to just have a conversation around the All-Star Game and talk about the All-Star Game and the great players that we have, doing so in a way that truly highlights the Midsummer Classic and truly puts players in a position where they are sprinting to come to the game.”

And flipping their bats when they get here.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Major League Baseball season has reached its halfway point, or, more accurately, we’ve landed at the All-Star break, with 60% of the schedule already in the books. So, how did it go? Here’s a handful of storylines to chew on as we prepare for the second-half stretch run.

What hasn’t happened

Remember the torpedo bats that were a destroyer of worlds in the season’s opening days? Some geniuses even said they were the latest example of how “over-innovation can ruin baseball” (no idea who wrote that zinger). Well, so far that’s looking like the kneejerk reaction of the season, or maybe several seasons. The Yankees, who are the chief adapters of the redesigned bats that boast customized sweet spots, hit 15 home runs in three games against Milwaukee at the start of the season. Then they calmed down and struck 1.46 home runs per game from then on. Yes, they still lead the league in homers, and yes, they’re averaging more dingers per game than they did last year when Juan Soto was in their lineup. But the tech has not in fact made a complete farce of the game. Has Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’ torpedo bat swinging MVP candidate, been aided by the innovation? Well, he has 38 homers this season, four more than his career-high already, while Triple Crown candidate Aaron Judge, who doesn’t use a torpedo bat, has 35. This time, let’s go with a more conservative take on the bats: the jury’s still out.

Oh, the bullpens …

What drives fans the most crazy? The way their manager handles his bullpen. Don’t believe me? Try searching “bullpen management” on X and see what comes up; it’s not pretty. But here’s the thing: when your starting pitchers average well under six innings a game, and you have to figure out how to get an additional nine, 12, 15 outs or more, where’s the roadmap for that? There isn’t one – managers make it up on the fly most nights. With a bevy of starters recovering from elbow injuries, while upper management continues to nurse the long men, desperate brass are forced to shuttle relievers between the minors and the majors looking for fresh arms. It’s pretty ugly. Is anyone getting it “right?” Well, few outside LA are going to sympathize with the super-rich Dodgers, but their skipper Dave Roberts is getting just 4.5 innings a game from his beleaguered, injury riddled starters, the worst number in all of baseball (the MLB average is 5.2). Apparently there’s more than a few teams that’ll be looking for bullpen help at the 31 July trade deadline. Yeah, you think?

Stand up for Detroit

Remember last July when the Tigers were dealing away players, and then somehow made the playoffs and came within a single victory of the American League Championship Series? Well, as it turns out, that run was no fluke. The Tigers have an 11.5 game lead in the AL Central at the break, the largest such lead they’ve had since the All-Star Game began in 1933. For context, the historic 1984 Tigers that began 35-5 had an eight-game lead at the break. Detroit own the best record in all of baseball, even after losing their last four games.

So what’s gone right? Tarik Skubal has stiff competition from Boston’s Garrett Crochet in his bid to win a second successive Cy Young, but the Tigers hurler has walked just 16 batters in 121 innings – an astonishingly low number. Meanwhile, Detroit’s lineup is full of redemption songs, with three players in the top five favored for the AL Comeback Player of the Year award (Rangers ace Jacob deGrom leads that group). Former No 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson has recovered from an abysmal 2024 to power up a Tigers offense driven by Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry, allowing the bats to overshadow a middle-of-the road pitching staff, Skubal aside. But perhaps the story of the season is Javier Baez. The once big-dollar-bust is an All-Star this season, and has upped his OPS by more than 230 points from last season and is Detroit’s face of mojo as they head to the second half of the season.

The Lost Boys

The Colorado Rockies weren’t daunted by the 2024 White Sox’ modern MLB record for losses in a season. With a team of misfits, horrific ownership and tough NL West neighbors, the Rockies went to work on besting (or worsting) the ChiSox right out of the gate. And away they went, losing 36 of 46 games at Coors Field, a modern home record.

Elsewhere, pitching phenom Paul Skenes is one of the only bright lights at the Pirates, who continue to sag, having failed to finish higher than fourth in the NL Central since 2017. Their lack of competitive play is even enough to get Commissioner Rob Manfred somewhat “concerned” about the Buccos, not to mention teams such as the Marlins, who lead a system of meandering franchises whose ownership appear uninterested in winning. Clearly a salary cap, which every other major North American sports league has in some form or other, could help with such imbalance. But with a divide between rich and richer owners and a players’ union that’s fought against a cap for its entire existence, that will always be a tough sell, and so the issue will be a source of labor strife after the 2026 season.

And speaking of a tough sell, MLB has been trying to unload a short-term package of games since ESPN opted out of the final three years of their rights deal worth roughly $1.5bn. Manfred, who admitted that having to find another suitor to replace those lost dollars is not all that fun, says there’s been “progress” in that search and says he should have some news in the coming weeks.

Odds and ends

Thanks to breakout star Pete-Crowe Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, Nico Hoerner and virtually everyone else in the Cubbies lineup, Chicago are having their biggest OPS+year since, well, 1884. They lead the Brewers in the NL Central by a single game. In the NL East, the Phillies have power issues, but it’s Zach Wheeler and their starting pitching that’s given them a short lead over the Mets, who started fast and fell faster, losing 17 of 27 games heading into the break. In the AL East, the Yankees slumped themselves out of first place, while the surprising Blue Jays overtook the Bombers despite an inferior run difference. The once hotter than hot Rays traded places with the Red Sox who rode a 10-game winning streak into third place at the break, all after controversially trading away Rafael Devers and losing Alex Bregman to injury. The Houston Astros of the AL West dealt away their best player, Tucker, in the offseason, but look better without him: hurlers Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown and a white hot pen have the ‘Stros in a commanding first place position after an un-Astro-like 2024. In the NL West, the “Best Team Ever” are yet to play like it, but then again, LA have been missing most of their rotation for most of the season.

The Dodgers are likely to get stronger when it matters though. Shohei Ohtani is pitching again and has an ERA just over one as he stretches out for the postseason, Tyler Glasnow just returned, with Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to follow. Add that to All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto and it’s clear that we ain’t seen nothing yet. Whether or not heavily favored LA can become the first repeat World Series winners since the 2000 Yankees is the question heading into the second half.

Technically, there was no winning pitcher in Major League Baseball’s 95th All-Star Game.

The man who gave up the night’s biggest swings, however, was probably as deserving as any.

As the American League stormed back from a 6-0 deficit in Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic, a rarely contemplated reality started to dawn in both dugouts.

Three years ago, MLB changed its rules for how to break ties in its annual marquee event, instituting a home run “swing-off” to be conducted at the conclusion of the ninth inning. Each team selected three players, who each got three swings. Whichever team hit the most home runs in those nine swings wins the game.

It was penalty kicks for baseball. A hockey shootout on the diamond.

The only difference, though, was that this sport’s version required a coach to take part in the action.

Enter Dino Ebel — veteran Dodgers’ third base coach — and, now, victorious pitcher in the inaugural All-Star Game swing-off.

“What an exciting moment, I think, for baseball, for all the people that stayed, who watched on television, everything,” Ebel said, after teeing up the NL hitters for a 4-3 win in the home run swing-off, and a 7-6 win overall in the All-Star Game.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw is the All-Star among All-Stars as NL defeats AL

“That was pretty awesome to be a part of … I had like 10 throws just to get loose. And then it’s like, ‘Let’s bring it on.’ ”

Indeed, in an event that can often go stale once starters get removed in the early innings, the finish to Tuesday’s game energized both the stands and the dugouts, with players from both teams emptying onto the field and wildly cheering each swing.

“That was like the baseball version of a shootout or extra time,” said Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber, who went three for three in his turn at the plate to ultimately lift the NL to the win, and earn All-Star Game MVP honors. “It was really fun. I credit the guys on our side, who were really into it.”

“First time in history we got to do this,” added Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts, who was previously 0-3 as an All-Star Game manager before Tuesday’s dramatic conclusion. “I think it played pretty well tonight.”

Perhaps the greatest twist: In the middle of it all was Ebel, a 59-year-old base coach who, as a utility infielder from 1988 to 1994 in the Dodgers’ minor-league system, never advanced past triple A.

In addition to his duties as third base coach and outfield instructor for the Dodgers, Ebel is something of a batting practice specialist these days. He’s thrown it on a daily basis to Dodgers hitters ever since the team hired him in 2019, and as a staff member with the Angels for years before that. He has pitched for four different players in the Home Run Derby, including Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández’s win in Texas last year.

Ebel and Schwarber even had previous history of doing batting practice together, back when Ebel was a coach on Team USA’s 2023 World Baseball Classic squad two years prior.

“He's got great BP,” Schwarber said. “A lot of credit goes to him, just kind of getting thrown into the firestorm there and not being rattled by it, being able to keep pumping really good strikes to us.”

By the time Schwarber came up in the second round of the swing-off, the NL was in somewhat dicey position. Brent Rooker of the A’s started the event off with two home runs for the AL. Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins and Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners each traded one, leaving the AL ahead 3-1.

And while Schwarber is one of the league’s most feared sluggers, with 30 long balls this year and 314 in his career, he said he rarely takes actual batting practice on the field, leaving him admittedly “a little nervous” as strolled to the dish.

“I think the first swing was kind of the big one,” Schwarber said. “I was just really trying to hit a line drive, versus trying to hit the home run. Usually, that tends to work out — especially in games.”

As Schwarber was preparing for his round, he and Ebel discussed where exactly he wanted the ball thrown.

“I’m gonna go left-center to center field,” Schwarber told Ebel. “So just throw it down the middle.”

Three thunderous swings later, Schwarber had put the NL in front with three towering blasts.

“This was putting it more on the line,” Ebel said of Tuesday’s format, which unlike the Home Run Derby or daily BP, required more patience and precision with each player permitted only three swings. “Like right now, you’re gonna win it or you’re gonna lose it. And we won it.”

Indeed, when the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jonathan Aranda suffered an 0-fer that culminated in a pop-up, the NL team swarmed Schwarber, who then sought out Ebel and embraced him with a hug.

“A lot of credit goes to him for the National League bringing it home,” Schwarber reiterated.

“Put a ‘W’ next to Dino's name in the paper,” Roberts echoed. “Dino should get the win, absolutely.”

This week was memorable for Ebel even before Tuesday’s swing-off.

On Sunday morning, he flew home early from the Dodgers’ road series in San Francisco to be with his son, Brady, for the MLB draft. From their living room, the Ebel family celebrated after Brady was selected 32nd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, then packed up and headed for Ontario International Airport to catch a red-eye flight Sunday for Atlanta.

And after getting in early on Monday morning, Ebel had been going nonstop around All-Star festivities, joining his fellow Dodgers coaches (who made up the honorary NL staff after winning the pennant last year) for media appearances, throwing batting practice in a pre-Home Run Derby workout on Monday and, as it turned out, doing it again with Tuesday’s game in the balance.

“It’s pretty high adrenaline going for me right now,” Ebel said from the NL clubhouse postgame. “I haven’t gotten too much sleep. But right now, I feel like I’ve slept for days. Because I’m wired up.”

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Tuesday saw the first-ever swing-off at the MLB All-Star Game.

Instead of a tie or the game going to extra innings, MLB and the players' union agreed that if the Midsummer Classic was tied after nine innings, the game would be decided by a home run derby. Of course, it wouldn't be like the one fans saw on Monday night but it gave an electric finish to an entertaining contest.

Each manager chose three batters to take three swings. Whoever had more homers was deemed the winner and Kyle Schwarber led the National League to victory on Tuesday.

But one question remained: how did each league's managers -- especially Aaron Boone -- choose who would be hitting?

Well, the Yankees skipper made it clear how that process went.

"We had to pick our guys yesterday," Boone said after the game. "Wanted to make sure I picked guys I knew would be in the game there and still hot. That was my choice."

Boone's choice of three hitters was the Athletics' Brent Rooker, the Mariners' Randy Arozarena and the Rays' Jonathan Aranda. Interesting choices, for sure.

Rooker put on a show in Monday's Home Run Derby, hitting 17 bombs and missing out on the second round because eventual winner, Cal Raleigh hit a ball less than a foot further. The Athletics outfielder has 20 homers this season, which is eighth in the AL. Arozarena has 17, which is 15th in the league but Aranda has only 11 this season.

Where was Aaron Judge? Where was Junior Caminero, who was the Home Run Derby runner-up?

As Boone explained, he wanted players who were playing in the later innings as they were more warmed up and ready to go. So that means starters who play 3-4 innings are not available.

"We weren’t going to switch. We picked our players yesterday, then it was just the matter of picking the order," Boone said when asked about planning for the All-Star Game. "You have a plan going in. You know the starters are playing half the game, you got a couple of guys nursing through some things so you're protecting a couple of guys too and keeping it shorter for them. You plan for that going in."

Even if Boone had his full roster available, it may not have mattered. Schwarber did what he does best, hitting three bombs with his three swings, and clinching the win without Pete Alonso having to take a swing.

The Yankees skipper was impressed by the swing-off performance even if he wasn't surprised.

"I'm not shocked, especially after he clipped the first one," he said. "You get that first one under your belt. He put three great swings on it...I saw him nodding his head and he did Schwarber-type things."

Where were Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani?

That was the obvious question after the All-Star Game ended in a dramatic home run swing-off on Tuesday night in Atlanta, the first ever of its kind, after the game itself was played to a 6-6 tie after nine innings.

Three players on each side, three swings each. Those were the rules.

If ever there was a spot for Judge, this was it. But apparently Judge and Ohtani had already left Truist Park for a private flight to enjoy the off days before the second half of the season resumes, as many of the top stars for years have done after being taken out of the game.

Too bad. What potential for even more drama. It could have come down to Judge and Pete Alonso, who was lined up to hit third for the National League, a spot that figured to decide the swing-off.

Except Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber intervened with quite a clutch feat, hitting three home runs in his three swings, to put the NL over the top by a count of 4-3, and render Alonso’s swings unnecessary when the Rays’ Jonathan Aranda went homerless in his three swings.

Aranda instead of Judge. That’s quite a whiff for MLB.

Of course, nobody could have predicted the game would end in a tie, and this new format would be invoked for the first time ever.

Furthermore, Judge is one player who always does the right thing and may not have even been aware of the new format, which was adopted only last season and had received little publicity.

Still, with that type of drama as a possibility, MLB ought to make sure the biggest stars are there at the end just in case. Alonso told reporters the swing-off participants are named by the manager before the game, but suffice to say, both managers knew Judge and Ohtani wouldn’t be there.

In any event, if the swing-off seemed a hokey way to decide the game, it also came with genuine enthusiasm, as players from both teams lined up outside the dugout to cheer on the participants.

“The boys were into it,” was the way Schwarber put it when interviewed on the field afterward.

Even a traditionalist like Derek Jeter, commenting for FOX, admitted, “I wasn’t sure about it at first, but it was probably better than playing extra innings. It was exciting.”

The new format was adopted so that managers wouldn’t have to save pitchers for the potential of extra innings, thereby giving the most players the best chance to participate.

And as it turned out, a two-run rally in the ninth inning by the American League, which included the tying run scoring against Edwin Diaz on a slow roller by Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians, made the swing-off possible.

It also denied a likely MVP award for Alonso, who had hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning off Royals lefty Kris Bubic to give the NL a 5-0 lead at the time.

And maybe it would have gone differently had NL manager Dave Roberts simply turned the ninth inning over to Diaz. Instead, he went first to Padres closer Robert Suarez, who gave up a run on one-out doubles by Byron Buxton and Bobby Witt Jr.

So with the tying run on second, Roberts brought in Diaz. He was fortunate when Matt Olson fielded Jazz Chisolm Jr.’s scorcher down the first-base line, tossing to Diaz covering for the second out of the inning.

With Witt Jr. at third, Diaz got Kwan, the little lefty slap hitter, to make soft contact on a back-door slider, but third baseman Eugenio Suarez had no chance to throw him out, and the game was tied.

Diaz got out of the inning by striking out Randy Arozarena on a two-strike pitch called a ball, and then overturned by Diaz’s challenge of the pitch by the ABS challenge system that was used for the All-Star Game.

All of which led to the swing-off and what could have been a fabulous finish for Alonso.

As it was, he said he was thrilled with his home run in the actual game after deciding to skip Monday's Home Run Derby for the first time in his career.

"That beats any Derby win,” Alonso told reporters in Atlanta. “That’s really special. The Derby is just batting practice at the end of the day. To do it playing in a game against the league’s best, that’s really special.”

Still, it could have been extra special.

Alonso said that during the swing-off, he was in the indoor cage, taking swings and watching Schwarber on a nearby TV monitor.

“He put on a hell of a show,” Alonso said. “I was standing by the cage, saying ‘hell, yeah, Schwarbs.’ I mean he’s my teammate here, so I was rooting for him.

“I was still ready for my moment if it came. Instead, we did it the easy way.”

Aranda came within a couple of feet of tying the swing-off at 4-4 as he hit one high off the wall in right.

All in all, it made for some unexpected drama that can’t be scripted. It was fun without Judge and Ohtani. It would have been a lot more fun with them.

No one wants to see players get hurt in a game, especially if it's during an exhibition. But that was potentially the case for Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez.

Suarez, playing in his second All-Star Game and a hot name in this trade deadline cycle, especially when it comes to the Mets and Yankees, led off the eighth inning against the White Sox's Shane Smith. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Suarez took a 96 mph fastball to the pinky of his left hand.

The infielder got on one knee in pain while trainers attended to him, but Suarez stayed in the game and ran the bases.

Suarez even played the field in the ninth and made a spectacular throw to get the first out of the inning.

That's our third baseman 🫶 pic.twitter.com/pvBBPU4hBn

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 16, 2025

It seemed as though Suarez avoided disaster but the third baseman was supposed to hit for the National League during the first-ever swing-off. He was replaced by the Marlins' Kyle Stowers.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who was leading the National League, said after the game that he had Stowers replace Suarez due to the hit-by-pitch. Suarez would tell the media that he received X-rays at Truist Park during the swing-off and that they were negative. He also said he's relieved by the results.

Suarez is having a great season, which is why he's the talk of many a trade rumor recently. At the break, he's slashing .250/.320/.569 with an OPS of .889. His 31 homers are second in the National League, while his 78 RBI lead the league.

He is in the final year of his contract, so he makes the perfect trade deadline acquisition as a rental, especially for a Diamondbacks team (47-50) who are 11 games back of the NL West crown but are still just 5.5 games back in the NL Wild Card.

A first-ever All-Star Game tiebreaker, in the form of a home run swing-off, took place Tuesday night in Atlanta after the American and National League teams played to a 6-6 tie in nine innings. 

Three players from each team, including the Mets’ Pete Alonso, lined up to take three swings apiece to decide the game.

But as it turned out, Alonso never got to swing because Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs in three swings to win it as the NL outhomered the AL 4-3.

The AL was leading 3-1 after two home runs by Brent Rooker and one by Randy Arozarena, against one by Kyle Stowers from the NL, when Schwarber hit three to put them ahead.

Jonathan Aranda of the Tampa Bay Rays had a chance to re-take the lead for the AL and leave it up to Alonso, but he failed to hit a home run in three swings, missing one by only a couple of feet high off the right field wall.

The new format was adopted so that managers wouldn’t have to hold back pitchers for the potential of extra innings, allowing as many players as possible the chance to participate in the game.

Here are some takeaways...

-For a long time, it looked like Alonso’s three-run home run in the sixth inning would be the difference in the game, as it gave the NL a 5-0 lead at the time.

However, the AL rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth, the last one scoring on an infield hit, a slow roller to third, by Steven Kwan against Edwin Diaz.

Alonso jumped on a 1-0 fastball at 93 mph from KC Royals’ lefty Kris Bubic and drove it over the right field wall for a three-run shot that gave the NL a 5-0 lead at the time.

Fernando Tatis Jr. started the inning with a walk and promptly stole second base. Brendan Donovan then grounded a ball to deep short and easily beat Bobby Witt Jr.’s throw to first, as Tatis went to third.

Alonso, who had replaced Freddie Freeman at first base in the third inning, got jammed in his first at-bat against Seattle Mariners’ right-hander Bryan Woo. This time he got a pitch out over the plate and took it to the opposite field for a no-doubter of a home run.

It was the third home run by a Met in an All-Star game, following Lee Mazzilli in 1979 and David Wright in 2006.

There were two other home runs in the game: Diamondbacks’ outfielder Corbin Carroll delivered a solo shot, also in the sixth inning following Alonso, and gave the NL a 6-0 lead.

Rooker hit a three-run shot in the seventh inning off Giants’ right-handed reliever Randy Rodriguez, cutting the NL lead to 6-3 at the time.

The show of power on both sides was fitting for a game that featured an in-game tribute to the late Hank Aaron, the late home run king who played for the Braves in both Milwaukee and Atlanta.

 Tuesday night’s game was paused going into the top of the seventh as MLB paid tribute to Aaron with a video and light-show reconstruction of sorts of Aaron’s 715th home run in 1974 in Atlanta that broke Babe Ruth’s then record total of 714.

The tribute included Vin Scully’s memorable TV call, played for both the Truist Field crowd and the national TV audience to hear.

The NL led 6-4 going into the ninth but San Diego Padres’ reliever Robert Suarez gave up back-to-back doubles with one out, at which point Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts went to Diaz.

The Mets’ closer was fortunate that Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s one-hop smash down the first base line was fielded by the Braves’ Matt Olson for the second out of the inning. But Kwan then hit a slow roller toward third and easily beat it out as Bobby Witt Jr. scored from third to tie the game.

-Clayton Kershaw, appearing in the game courtesy of a Legends pick by MLB, was mic’d up as he pitched the second inning, and had some fun with it, commenting on each pitch he chose to throw.

He embraced the conversation with Joe Davis and John Smoltz of FOX, and as he went to a 1-2 count on Vlad Guerrero Jr., even invited Smoltz to call the next pitch.

“Smoltzie, what do you want?”

“Cutter in,” Smoltz replied

To which Kershaw feigned indignance, and said, “I don’t throw a cutter, Smoltzie.”

Then he threw a slider that froze Vlad Jr. for strike three, his second out of the inning, at which point Dave Roberts pulled him from the game to get a standing ovation from the crowd.

Yankees’ left-hander Carlos Rodon pitched a scoreless third inning for the AL, allowing one hit, a double by Pete Crow-Armstrong.

-Mets’ left-hander David Peterson pitched a scoreless fourth inning for the NL. He allowed a pair of two-out singles but got Ryan O’Hearn on a soft comebacker to the mound to escape the inning.

-Jacob Misiorowski, the Milwaukee Brewers’ rookie who gained instant fame of sorts by being named to the  NL All-Star team after only five starts, showed off his 100-mph-plus fastball while pitching a scoreless eighth inning.

 Misiorowski threw nine fastballs at 100 mph or harder, including a few at 102 mph, though he recorded no strikeouts. Instead, he gave up some hard contact but allowed just one hit, on a 94-mph change-up, a single by the Rays’ Jonathan Aranda.

-Eugenio Suarez, a potential trade target for both the Mets and Yankees, was hit on his left hand by a pitch by Chicago White Sox reliever Shane Smith.

Suarez was examined on the field by medical personnel but stayed in the game. He went on to make a nice barehanded play in the ninth on a slow chopper hit by the Royals’ Maikel Garcia, throwing him out by a full stride.

Highlights

Carlos Rodón with a scoreless second inning in the All-Star Game! ⭐️pic.twitter.com/IBP1L7l6PB

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 16, 2025

Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso combine for the putout on Aaron Judge with David Peterson pitching 🤝

(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/W6dqonjSLw

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 16, 2025

A scoreless 4th inning for David Peterson!

(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/LpW424Osp6

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 16, 2025

Francisco Lindor flashes the leather and one-hops it to Pete Alonso for the out ♨️

(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/Go2umKP51t

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 16, 2025

In a week where so much of the focus was on players who weren’t playing in the All-Star Game, and those who were selected that weren’t seen as deserving, it was the player who had been in more Midsummer Classics than anyone else who delivered the most profound reminder.

Before the start of Major League Baseball’s 95th All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, National League manager Dave Roberts called upon longtime Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw to speak in the clubhouse.

And in an impromptu pregame speech as the team’s elder statesman, Kershaw imparted the most important lesson he’s learned from his 11 All-Star Games.

“The All-Star Game, it can be hard at times for the players,” Kershaw recounted when asked about his message to the team. “It’s a lot of travel, it’s a lot of stress, chaos, family, all this stuff.”

“But,” the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer added, “it’s meaningful, it’s impactful for the game, it’s important for the game. We have the best All-Star Game of any sport. We do have the best product. So to be here, to realize your responsibility to the sport is important … And I just said I was super honored to be part of it.”

Kershaw, admittedly, was picked for this year’s game for more sentimental reasons than anything.

After making only 10 starts in the first half of the year following offseason foot and knee surgeries, the future Hall of Famer was shoehorned in as a “Legend Pick” by commissioner Rob Manfred, getting the nod a week after becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB with 3,000 strikeouts.

Read more:Shaikin: Live from Atlanta: The next front in the war between MLB owners and players

The honor made Kershaw feel awkward, with the three-time Cy Young Award winner repeatedly joking that he hadn’t really deserved to return to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2023, despite his 4-1 record and 3.38 ERA so far this season.

At first, he acknowledged, he even had a little hesitancy about participating in this week’s festivities in Atlanta.

“My initial response was just, you don’t ever want to take somebody’s spot,” he said. “You don’t ever want to be a side show.”

A side show, however, Kershaw was not.

Instead, as the man with the most All-Star selections of anyone in this year’s game (and the fourth-most by a pitcher), Kershaw was at the center of one of the most memorable moments from the National League’s win on a tiebreaking home run derby after a 6-6 tie.

Upon entering the game at the start of the second inning, he retired the first two batters he faced; the latter, a strikeout looking of Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He then turned to the dugout to see Roberts coming to get him, ending what could very well be his final appearance in the Midsummer Classic (even though, he has made a point of noting, he has not made any decision on retirement after the season).

And as he exited the mound, he was serenaded with one of the night’s loudest ovations, waving a hand in appreciation before blowing a kiss to his family in the stands.

“I didn’t anticipate to be here. I definitely didn’t anticipate to pitch,” Kershaw said. “So it was awesome. So thankful for it now.”

Many others in Atlanta felt the same way about sharing the week with Kershaw.

NL starter Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates had the locker next to Kershaw in the Truist Park clubhouse, and joked his only hope was that veteran left-hander wouldn’t get sick of him by the end of the event.

“He’s such a class act, it’s just so impressive,” Skenes said. “We were in the waiting room before the red carpet today, and he had all his kids, and watching him as dad too, it was a cool experience.”

San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb recalled his memories of watching Kershaw while growing up in Northern California.

“I just respect him so much, watching him pitch,” Webb said. “You could’ve asked me five years ago, and you could’ve said Clayton Kershaw was a legend already. He is a legend. I’m just happy I’m able to share a clubhouse with him.”

Kershaw’s lighter side was on display Tuesday, as well, with the pitcher mic’d up with the Fox broadcast team for his brief outing.

“I’m gonna try to throw some cheese real quick, hold on,” he joked while unleashing an 89-mph fastball to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, which turned into a lineout in left thanks to a diving effort from Kyle Tucker of the Chicago Cubs.

“Hey!” Kershaw exclaimed. “That was sick.”

On his first pitch to Guerrero, Kershaw threw another fastball that the Blue Jays' star took for a strike.

“Right down the middle,” Kershaw said. “I’m so glad he didn’t swing.”

When Guerrero got to a 1-and-1 count after a curveball in the dirt, Kershaw contemplated his next pitch.

“I think I probably gotta go slider,” he said. “Let’s see what Will thinks.”

Behind the plate, teammate Will Smith instead called for a curveball.

“Nope, he wants curveball again,” Kershaw laughed. “All right, fine.”

Read more:Rob Manfred: MLB won't cancel the 2028 All-Star Game for the Olympics

Guerrero swung through it — “Oh, got him,” he said — before freezing on a slider two pitches later for a called third strike.

“I’m getting blown up by former teammates saying, ‘Wow, you’ve changed so much,’ and they’re right,” Kershaw joked afterward, acknowledging his once-fiery demeanor never would have allowed him to embrace an in-game interview like that. “I don’t think I would’ve ever done that [in the past]. But it was actually kind of fun.”

Really, that was the theme of Kershaw’s whole week.

Reluctantly accepting his stature as one of the game’s most decorated players. Accepting an invitation designed to honor his career accomplishments. And providing a reminder of the All-Star Game’s meaning, in what will perhaps be his last time on such a stage.

“It’s a very awesome, special thing to get to come to All-Star Games,” he said. “I remember the first one, how special that was. And I don’t think a lot has changed for me over the years to get to come to these things. So I don’t take that for granted. I think it’s really awesome. I mean, I shouldn’t be here anyway, so it’s very possible this could be my last one. So it was just a very awesome night, special.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

David Peterson made his first All-Star appearance on Tuesday night. 

Like the rest of his Mets teammates, he was greeted with heavy boos from the Truist Park crowd as he was introduced during the pregame festivities.

The southpaw was then the fifth pitcher to enter for the National League on the night, and he continued a strong stretch of pitching for the squad. 

Peterson set down Riley Greene with a slider out of the zone, then got Aaron Judge to roll over to Francisco Lindor, before allowing back-to-back singles to Home Run Derby champ Cal Raleigh and Vlad Guerrero Jr..

He was able to escape the threat just two pitches later, though, getting Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn to roll one softly right back to him, officially closing the book on his first All-Star inning with no runs against. 

He threw just 12 pitches during the efficient outing, 10 of which were strikes. 

A scoreless 4th inning for David Peterson!

(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/LpW424Osp6

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 16, 2025

Peterson became the first Mets pitcher to throw a scoreless inning in the ASG since Jacob deGrom (2019) -- funnily enough, the ace righty was in the opposing dugout on Tuesday representing the Rangers.

“It was awesome,” Peterson said. “To be out there and compete, to get Lindor a groundball and then finish the inning with an assist to Pete, it was a great experience -- I’m very honored to be a part of this and I had a lot of fun these past couple of days.”

With his festivities officially in the books, Peterson now turns his attention to the second half of the season. 

The left-hander was spectacular for New York during the opening half of the year -- stepping up masterfully with Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea sidelined to injuries, pitching to a 3.06 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 18 outings.

Now that they are back, Peterson feels the Mets are in a good spot.   

“It’s exciting having those guys back,” he said. “Seeing Senga come back, seeing Sean for the first time, I’m excited -- going to enjoy these next two days off but then get back to work and make that final push.”

Pete Alonso and the rest of the Mets' All-Stars received boos from the Truist Park crowd pregame.

A few innings later, though, the slugger gave the rival crowd something to cheer about.

After Fernando Tatis Jr. and Brendan Donovan reached to lead off the inning, Alonso stepped to the plate looking to do some damage against Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic.

Bubic fell behind 1-0 and then tried to sneak a middle-middle fastball past the big man, but he was not fooled and smacked it 367 feet the other way for an opposite-field three-run homer.

Alonso became just the third Met to leave the yard in an All-Star Game, and the first since David Wright did so back in 2006.

"For me, I think that beats any Derby win," he said postgame. "That's really special, so I'm stoked. I was stoked to do that, stoked to preform the way I did today -- it was just an awesome and incredible experience."

PETE ALONSO HITS A THREE-RUN HOMER IN THE ALL-STAR GAME!

(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/X2KlCg9CCf

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 16, 2025

pic.twitter.com/BIdnzb3v0s

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 16, 2025

Francisco Lindor knew the type of reception he would get for the 2025 All-Star Game, and the Atlanta crowd did not disappoint.

After alluding to it leading into the All-Star break, the fans at Truist Park greeted the Mets' shortstop and his teammates to a chorus of boos.

During the introductions for the All-Star Game reserves and pitchers, once Pete Alonso, David Peterson and Edwin Diaz were introduced, the crowd booed them.

Alonso reveled in the boos and gave a big wave to the Atlanta crowd.

Boos in Atlanta for the Mets' all-stars 🤝

(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/5K458MI4NG

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 16, 2025

Lindor, hitting eighth in the starting lineup, was introduced with the rest of the National League All-Star starters and received even bigger boos after he was introduced as "Mr. Smiles."

The Mets shortstop gave a big smile and gave peace signs as he ran onto the field.

Lindor voted an All-Star starter for the first time in a Mets uniform and the reception isn’t too surprising considering the heated rivalry between the Mets and Braves. 

And to the Braves fans' credit, they booed Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies after they introduced the trio of Mets.

The All-Stars from the Marlins and Nationals were not greeted as enthusiastically.

Francisco Lindor is introduced for his first All-Star Game as a Met 🔥

(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/JDuRzg5Ix8

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 16, 2025

The reception for Francisco Lindor at the 2025 All-Star Game 😅 pic.twitter.com/NXZT4RI4mO

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 16, 2025

National League wins 2025 MLB All-Star Game with Home Run Derby swing off originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Midsummer Classic definitely lived up to its name.

Despite blowing a 6-0 advantage in the ninth, the National League beat the American League in a Home Run Derby swing off after regulation in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber collected the MVP after his clutch performance in the swing off, going yard on each of his three swings to overcome the deficit and help build the win.

The NL got the scoring started early against Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal. In the first inning, Ketel Marte doubled to right, which allowed Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani to go home for a 2-0 lead.

Pete Alonso added to the NL’s lead with a three-run homer in the sixth off Tigers’ Casey Mize, with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Brendan Donovan scoring. Corbin Carroll then followed up with another homer off Mize to make it 6-0.

But the AL didn’t go down without a fight. Right after in the top of the seventh, Trevor Megill allowed a three-run homer off Brent Rooker. Alejandro Kirk and Jonathan Aranda also rounded home. Then Bobby Witt Jr. grounded out to second, which saw Maikel Garcia cut the deficit to 6-4.

The NL could’ve ended the game at the top of the ninth, but failed. Robert Suárez allowed one RBI when Witt Jr. doubled to right to send Byron Buxton home. Suarez was then replaced immediately for Edwin Diaz, but Steven Kwan hit an infield single that drove Witt Jr. home after an earlier Jazz Chisholm Jr. ground out to first.

With the game tied 6-6 after regulation, it went to a swing off, a new change implemented after 2022. Six batters — three from each league chosen by the manager — go head to head to see which side can hit the most home runs, with three swings each.

Rooker beat Kyle Stowers 2-1, but Schwarber tied it in the second round with a 3-1 advantage over Randy Arozarena. It came down to Aranda and Alonso, but the former failed to score on three attempts so the latter didn’t need to break an extra sweat.

In the All-Star Game’s history, the AL has the advantage with a 48-45-2 record. The NL used to have the lead, but the AL had won 10 of the last 11 editions prior to the 2025 game.

Now the NL has the momentum going into next year’s edition, but not without a major hiccup.