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ATLANTA — History was made late Tuesday at Truist Park as the National League prevailed in the MLB All-Star Game, thanks to the first-time use of a little-known home run tiebreaker.
The game was settled with a home-run swing-off instead of extra innings, with the tiebreaker format created by MLB and the MLB Players Association in 2022 as part of the labor deal struck that year, but not needed until now.
Three players per team each had three swings to amass as many homers as possible—with the unique structure designed to avoid player injury and overuse and aid in each manager’s roster deployment during the All-Star Game.
The American League’s trio of hitters—Brent Rooker of the Athletics, and Randy Arozarena and Jonathan Aranda of the Rays—amassed a total of three home runs. The NL crew of the Marlins’ Kyle Sowers, Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, and Mets’ Pete Alonso countered with four.
Schwarber in particular provided the key heroics, homering in all three of his swings en route to winning Most Valuable Player honors for the All-Star Game.
The late drama to the game, in which the AL rebounded from a 6–0 deficit to tie the game and then the unprecedented swing-off, could be a boon for viewership of the Fox Sports broadcast. The swing-off, however, did not start until after 11:30 p.m. ET.
The swing-off tiebreaker for the All-Star Game will remain at least through the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and union, expiring in December 2026.
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