The American League has dominated the last decade-plus of All-Star Games. Entering this year’s edition, the AL had won 10 of the last 11 editions since 2013, with the NL’s lone win coming in 2023 in Seattle.
This year’s Midsummer Classic in Atlanta was a doozy, as the Senior Circuit jumped out to a big 6-0 lead only to see it wither away and then fall apart completely in the ninth. But under the new-ish All-Star rules, the game went to a home run swing-off for the first time, and thanks to a hat trick
of homers in a round from Kyle Schwarber, the Senior Circuit emerged triumphant. Schwarber thus became the first Phillie to win All-Star Game MVP in 61 years.
The game started with Paul Skenes doing Paul Skenes things, striking out both Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene before going face-to-face with Aaron Judge. After a shoddy strike 1 call, Judge grounded out to finish Skenes’ perfect showing.
The NL was not so kind to defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, lighting him up for three consecutive hits to make it 2-0 in the first inning on a two-run double by Arizona’s Ketel Marte. With the ABS system allowed for the All-Star Game, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh got to use it and help Skubal fan Manny Machado before settling in to finish the inning.
Dodgers icon Clayton Kershaw got to have a nice moment, as he retired both batters he faced in the second, including a strikeout of Vladimir Guerrero Jr, before being pulled to a standing ovation in what could be his final All-Star Game.
The Yankees’ Carlos Rodón came out to pitch the second inning after Skubal and got to face a pair of Cubs just three full days after the best start of his Yankees career came against them. He fell behind Kyle Tucker 2-0 before battling back to get him to ground out (to Gleyber!).
Francisco Lindor, representing the team that touched up Rodón for seven runs earlier this month, came up next and struck out, before Pete Crow-Armstrong lined a double to right field. The lineup flipped over for Shohei Ohtani, who nearly hit a frozen rope home run down the line, but it went just foul before he grounded out on the next pitch. Good work by Carlos in his third All-Star Game and first in pinstripes!
Carlos delivers a strong inning of work @Carlos_Rodon55 | #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/Ed5rJh2kkE
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 16, 2025
The AL got their first hit in the third on a Junior Caminero single off the Giants’ Logan Webb, but stranded him. Seattle’s Bryan Woo took over in the bottom half and made quick work of the Senior Circuit, just like he did to the Yankees last week (for the first seven innings, at least).
Judge got his second at-bat in the fourth against the Mets’ David Peterson, and the captain grounded out to shortstop to finish a relatively quiet night for him. Raleigh and Guerrero would follow him with singles to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn grounded out to end the first real threat. Minnesota’s Joe Ryan tossed the bottom half in an easy 1-2-3 inning.
MacKenzie Gore took over against the bottom of the order in the fifth and held serve, keeping the AL scoreless through five innings. Judge was officially pulled from the game at the exact halfway point, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered at the same time. The Rays’ Drew Rasmussen tossed a scoreless inning to wrap up the fifth as the game started to reach a lull.
Jazz led off the sixth against the Reds’ Andrew Abbott and jumped ahead 3-1, but skied a 3-2 fastball to center field for a fly out. Abbott then made quick work of Greene and Randy Arozarena.
Kansas City’s Kris Bubic got the bottom half and we finally got some more action. Fernando Tatis Jr. walked and stole a base, two rarities in a game like this. Brendan Donovan got an infield single to follow to set up Pete Alonso, who went oppo taco for a three-run shot to make it 5-0, NL, in the sixth.
Bubic got chased one batter later for fellow AL Central pitcher Casey Mize, who served up a 1-2 cookie to Corbin Carroll, who smashed a home run of his own. 6-0, all six runs off of AL Central pitching.
After a nice tribute to Atlanta legend Henry Aaron (if not one missing a key part of the call), the slumbering AL offense got a charge to start the seventh. Adrian Morejon allowed a single to Alejandro Kirk before walking Jonathan Aranda. NL skipper Dave Roberts, aggressive as always, pulled him for the Giants’ Randy Rodriguez. This move backfired, as Brent Rooker made up for missing last night’s Home Run Derby semifinal by a single inch by blasting a homer to left-center, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
The comeback effort continued after that, as Maikel Garcia walked, stole second, and got to third on a throwing error by Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman before his teammate Bobby Witt Jr. scored him to make it 6-4. The lineup flipped over for Chisholm, who chopped a ball to first, only for it to be booted for an infield single for the first (and only) Yankees’ hit. Roberts made another change to go to Milwaukee’s Trevor Megill, who dispatched of Steven Kwan to send it to the seventh-inning stretch.
Controversial All-Star rookie Jacob Misiorowski took the bump for the eighth and came out throwing absolute gas. Jonathan Aranda singled with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate, but induced a lineout from Zach McKinstry. Shane Smith came on for the bottom half and proceeded to hit Yankees trade deadline target Eugenio Suárez on the pinkie. Whoops. (Suárez stayed in the game, fortunately, and X-rays were negative.)
Smith got an out before honorary coach Joe Torre got to make a pitching change, bringing in Scott Proctor Seattle’s Andrés Muñoz. Fresh off the pitch tipping at Yankee Stadium last week, Muñoz got out of trouble to send it to the ninth.
Mr. Torre https://t.co/klSLEcT3Py pic.twitter.com/AObVHMc36N
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 16, 2025
Padres closer Robert Suarez came on for the save, where the AL once again made a push. Byron Buxton doubled with one out and Witt followed him up with a double of his own to make it a one-run game and chase Suarez for another generally reliable ninth-inning arm, Edwin Diaz of the Mets.
Facing Diaz? Our very own Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Jazz fell behind 0-2 before rocketing a ball 105-mph down the right field line, only for a nice play by Olson to rob him of a game-tying hit. Fortunately, his effort at least moved the speedy Witt over to third. The 2024 AL MVP runner-up managed to score as ball-in-play aficionado Steven Kwan hit a tapper that he beat out for a game-tying infield single to tie the game at six runs apiece. Oh baby.
Aroldis Chapman came on to send this one to “extras” in 6-6 dead heat, as Kyle Schwarber lined out, Tatis struck out, and Donovan was retired on a tapper in front of the plate. With that, this was one was ticketed for extras ... oh wait.
Back in 2019, MLB made a change to prevent extra innings or ties in future All-Star Games, as the 2017 and ‘18 editions both went to the 10th, when the clubs were essentially out of pitchers. Wanting to avoid a tie like the infamous 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee (made famous by then-commissioner Bud Selig’s shrug), the league landed on an extra-innings alternative.
So for the first time in the Midsummer Classic itself, we went to a Home Run Derby of sorts: the “swing-off.”
All-Star Swing Off
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 16, 2025
AL hitters: Rooker, Arozarena, Aranda
NL hitters: Stowers, Schwarber, Alonso
The field of available hitters was seemingly limited by who hadn’t already gotten out of uniform or left the exhibition entirely, so that meant no Judge, Raleigh, Ohtani, etc. It probably would have been a hard sell to convince them to dial it back up again.
With Yankees coach Travis Chapman throwing, Rooker got the inaugural swing-off going on a good note for the Junior Circuit, continuing his power display from earlier with a pair of homers in his three allotted swings. Miami’s Kyle Stowers responded by going 1-for-3, and Arozarena was also only able to get one in his round.
The longtime masher Schwarber, however, did not miss his moment in the second round. He went 3-for-3 on homers to put the Senior Circuit on top in the swing-off, 4-3, perfectly launching pitches from Dodgers coach Dino Ebel.
#AllStarGame Swing-off
— MLB (@MLB) July 16, 2025
AL - 3
NL - 4
Kyle Schwarber GIVES THE NL THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/NPZJciVTYn
Aranda was the man tasked with keeping it alive for the AL, but the Rays first baseman failed to get a single homer in three swings — depriving the world of an Alonso Derby redux, as he was the last scheduled hitter for the NL. So the NL survived to take just its second All-Star Game in the past decade.
Your full Yankee scorecard for the 95th Midsummer Classic:
Aaron Judge: 0-2
Jazz Chisholm Jr.: 1-3
Carlos Rodón: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
Max Fried: DNP
The Yankees will enjoy the next two days off, with the rest of the team joining the four All-Stars and coaching staff in Atlanta. The pitchers have not been announced, but the Yanks will begin a three-game against the Braves on Friday at Truist Park at 7:15pm EDT on YES.
Box Score
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